Wall Street finished the first session of 2026 with modest upward momentum after a mostly quiet, holiday-shortened week and a New Year’s Day closure the prior day. The market’s early wobble reflected thin trading conditions as investors looked to the year’s first full stretch of economic updates, with technology stocks driving much of the up-and-down action.
The S&P 500 climbed 12.97 points, or 0.2%, to 6,858.47, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 319.10 points, or 0.7%, to 48,382.39. The Nasdaq Composite, by contrast, fell 6.36 points—less than 0.1%—to 23,235.63, as losses for Microsoft and Tesla weighed on the tech-heavy index.
Nvidia helped support the broader tone, rising 1.3% and acting as one of the biggest forces trying to lift the market. At the same time, a 2.2% drop for Microsoft countered some of those gains. Tesla also pressured indexes, falling 2.6% after it reported falling sales for a second year in a row.
The session highlighted how the most valuable technology companies can move the market hour to hour, particularly as Wall Street continues to focus on artificial intelligence-related demand and the outlook for companies tied to data-center spending. Nvidia, Microsoft and Tesla’s outsized weight in market indexes gave their day-to-day moves more influence than smaller companies.
Beyond mega-cap swings, investors reacted to other stock moves. Furniture companies gained ground after President Donald Trump’s move to delay increased tariffs on upholstered furniture, with RH rising 8% and Wayfair up 6.1%. In corporate news elsewhere, Alibaba climbed 4.3%, and Baidu jumped 9.4% in Hong Kong after it said it plans to spin off its AI computer chip unit Kunlunxin, which would list shares in Hong Kong in early 2027, subject to regulatory approvals.
Energy and metals were comparatively steady. U.S. crude oil fell 0.2% to $57.32 a barrel, while Brent crude—used as the international benchmark—also fell 0.2% to $60.75 a barrel. Gold prices fell 0.3%, adding to a backdrop of generally muted price movement during the New Year’s trading lull.
In the bond market, Treasury yields held steady. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.19% from 4.17% late Wednesday, while the two-year yield held at 3.48% from late Wednesday. Foreign markets were described as faring better, and benchmarks in Britain and South Korea hit records.
Wall Street is set to shift attention beginning Monday to the first full week of the year, which includes several closely watched economic updates. The week will feature private reports on the services sector and consumer sentiment, along with government data on the job market, with investors looking for signs of how the U.S. economy closed out 2025 and where it may head in 2026.
The Federal Reserve’s path remains a central focus after rate cuts three times late in 2025, a move undertaken partly as the jobs market weakened. Even as the Fed has signaled caution and concern, Wall Street is betting the central bank will hold its benchmark interest rate steady at its January meeting, given inflation is still above the Fed’s 2% target and policy uncertainty tied to U.S. trade actions remains a factor.
Source note: This story includes company and market figures for Friday’s trading session as reported by The Associated Press.