Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) shares are trading higher Monday afternoon, joining a strong technology rally that saw the Nasdaq-100 surge over 2%. Here’s what investors need to know.

• INTC is surging to new heights today. Find out why here.

What To Know: The sector-wide buying pressure follows a forecast from Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius, who stated that recent labor market deterioration has likely “sealed a 25bp cut” at the Federal Reserve's December meeting.

While lower rates benefit the broader market, the implications are uniquely bullish for Intel due to the specific financial mechanics of its IDM 2.0 turnaround strategy.

Unlike its fabless competitors who outsource production, Intel is currently undertaking one of the most capital-intensive expansions in industrial history, spending tens of billions to build new fabrication plants.

High interest rates can act as a massive headwind for Intel, significantly increasing the cost of debt needed to finance these infrastructure projects and eroding the company’s free cash flow. A rate cut would directly lower Intel's weighted average cost of capital.

By reducing the cost of borrowing, the net present value of Intel's long-term foundry investments in Arizona and Ohio immediately improves, effectively lowering the profitability hurdle for their future manufacturing capacity.

Furthermore, lower rates generally stimulate enterprise credit expansion, a critical driver for the revitalization of lagging data center and PC hardware sales.

Goldman Sachs maintains a “buy the dip” rating on the broader market, suggesting this monetary easing will support valuations into 2026.

Benzinga Edge Rankings: Underscoring the intensity of this buying pressure, Benzinga Edge rankings currently assign the stock a bullish Momentum score of 90, reflecting strong technical conviction relative to the broader market.

INTC Price Action: Intel shares were up 4.54% at $36.07 at the time of publication on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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How To Buy INTC Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Intel – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy “fractional shares,” which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to “go short” a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

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