Broad gains led by technology stocks pushed Wall Street to more records on Tuesday, with about three out of every four stocks in the S&P 500 rising.
The S&P 500 rose 42.77 points, or 0.6%, to 6,944.82, setting a record on the third trading day of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 484.90 points, or 1%, to 49,462.08, hitting a record for a second straight day. The Nasdaq composite rose 151.35 points, or 0.6%, to 23,547.17.
Small company stocks also outpaced their larger counterparts. The Russell 2000 jumped 1.4% and was now just below its record set in December.
The most notable action remained in the tech sector, where Big Tech powered much of the market’s advance. Amazon surged 3.4%. The report said the company’s outsized stock valuation helped counter losses elsewhere, including Apple’s 1.8% drop.
Other megacap and chip-related moves also shaped the day. Micron Technology surged 10% and Microsoft rose 1.2%, while Nvidia finished 0.5% lower after wavering throughout the day.
A standout gainer was SanDisk, which surged 27.6% for the market’s biggest gain. The story said the stock’s value has jumped more than 800% since it spun off from Western Digital last February, with gains driven by artificial intelligence and the resulting demand for data-storage hardware. Western Digital rose 16.8%.
Technology companies, especially those focused on artificial intelligence, were being closely watched this week during the industry’s annual CES trade show in Las Vegas, as investors looked for updates that could shed more light on big corporate investments in AI technology.
Outside of stocks, benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 2% to $57.13 per barrel, while Brent crude fell 1.7% to $60.70 per barrel. Treasury yields rose in the bond market: the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.16% from 4.15% late Monday, and the two-year Treasury yield rose to 3.46% from 3.45% late Monday.
Gold prices rose 1% and silver prices rose 5.7%, continuing a run that the report said had brought record prices over the last year amid lingering economic concerns tied to conflicts and trade wars. Markets in Europe gained ground.
Wall Street was also preparing for a busy set of U.S. economic updates this week, including reports on the labor market, services activity, and consumer sentiment. On Wednesday, the U.S. government will release its job openings report for November; the October report had shown job openings barely budged. Weekly unemployment data is scheduled for Thursday, followed by the broader monthly employment report for December on Friday.
The Institute for Supply Management will release its latest services sector update on Wednesday, and the University of Michigan will release its latest consumer sentiment survey on Friday. The report said those measures are widely monitored because the services sector makes up the bulk of the U.S. economy and because consumer sentiment has been shaky under higher prices and economic uncertainty.
The Federal Reserve is set to analyze the data ahead of its next meeting in late January. The story noted that the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate three times late in 2025, while warning that further rate cuts risk fueling inflation that remains above the Fed’s 2% target. It added that Wall Street expects the Fed to hold interest rates steady at its January meeting.