The market's next test could come down to two stocks

CEO of Palantir Technologies Alex Karp speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 20, 2026. Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | The U.S. stock market is on a tear, clearing one hurdle after another, from elevated crude oil prices and geopolitical tensions to five of the seven "magnificent" earnings this week. Next up: another blockbuster week of first-quarter earnings season, with more than 100 S&P 500 members set to report. Highlights include semiconductor leader Advanced Micro Devices , retail-trading favorites Palantir and Coinbase , and consumer stocks from Uber to Disney. For momentum traders, AMD's report Tuesday after the bell is probably the most important. Semiconductors remain the heartbeat of the bull market as the power-providers behind the artificial intelligence boom, and AMD's been a scorcher, up 270% in the past year. That's more than three times the move in Nvidia, which reports on May 20. AMD and Palantir Options traders are bracing for a 7% move in AMD and have a generally bullish tilt, with call volumes and premiums far outpacing puts, but about an even number of calls being sold as bought. Perhaps that's because the stock got walloped 17% after its last report before staging a 75% comeback rally in April. …