U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.66%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Friday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Industrials and Basic Materials sectors led shares higher while losses in the Consumer Goods, Telecoms and Consumer Services sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.66%, while the S&P 500 index added 0.19%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.03%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), which rose 4.91% or 10.65 points to trade at 227.77 at the close. Meanwhile, Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) added 4.46% or 25.54 points to end at 598.41 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) was up 4.02% or 35.34 points to 914.34 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM), which fell 4.26% or 11.28 points to trade at 253.63 at the close. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) declined 2.21% or 10.69 points to end at 472.93 and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) was down 1.89% or 4.36 points to 226.46.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) which rose 10.50% to 315.38, Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) which was up 8.95% to settle at 187.68 and Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ:LRCX) which gained 8.11% to close at 185.06.

The worst performers were Gartner Inc (NYSE:IT) which was down 6.06% to 236.98 in late trade, Palantir Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:PLTR) which lost 5.58% to settle at 167.84 and Intuit Inc (NASDAQ:INTU) which was down 4.97% to 629.47 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Lavoro Ltd (NASDAQ:LVRO) which rose 144.44% to 1.10, Sky Quarry Inc (NASDAQ:SKYQ) which was up 92.62% to settle at 0.43 and Brand Engagement Network Inc (NASDAQ:BNAI) which gained 62.50% to close at 3.77.

The worst performers were OUTLOOK THERAPEUTICS INC (NASDAQ:OTLK) which was down 58.22% to 0.66 in late trade, Protagenic Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTIX) which lost 42.30% to settle at 0.75 and Kazia Therapeutics Ltd ADR (NASDAQ:KZIA) which was down 27.43% to 5.00 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1807 to 947 and 73 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1981 rose and 1414 declined, while 127 ended unchanged.

Shares in Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) rose to all time highs; up 10.50% or 29.97 to 315.38. Shares in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) rose to all time highs; rising 8.95% or 15.41 to 187.68. Shares in Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ:LRCX) rose to all time highs; rising 8.11% or 13.88 to 185.06. Shares in Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) rose to all time highs; rising 4.02% or 35.34 to 914.34. Shares in OUTLOOK THERAPEUTICS INC (NASDAQ:OTLK) fell to all time lows; falling 58.22% or 0.92 to 0.66. Shares in Protagenic Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTIX) fell to all time lows; losing 42.30% or 0.55 to 0.75.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 2.94% to 14.51.

Gold Futures for February delivery was down 0.05% or 2.35 to $4,338.75 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February fell 0.16% or 0.09 to hit $57.33 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract fell 0.10% or 0.06 to trade at $60.79 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.23% to 1.17, while USD/JPY rose 0.09% to 156.82.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.12% at 98.16.

Mexico stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/BMV IPC down 0.36%

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Investing.com – Mexico stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Industrials, Consumer Goods & Services and Consumer Staples sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Mexico, the S&P/BMV IPC lost 0.36%.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/BMV IPC were Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion SAB de CV (BMV:VOLARA), which rose 2.63% or 0.42 points to trade at 16.40 at the close. Meanwhile, Grupo Financiero Banorte (BMV:GFNORTEO) added 2.46% or 4.10 points to end at 171.04 and Megacable Holdings, S.A.B. De C.V. (BMV:MEGACPO) was up 1.97% or 1.02 points to 52.74 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Industrias Penoles Sab De CV (BMV:PEOLES), which fell 4.09% or 38.74 points to trade at 908.00 at the close. Sigma Foods SAB de CV (BMV:SIGMAFA) declined 2.54% or 0.40 points to end at 15.34 and Gentera SAB de CV (BMV:GENTERA) was down 1.71% or 0.79 points to 45.29.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Mexico Stock Exchange by 112 to 100 and 14 ended unchanged.

Gold Futures for February delivery was down 0.07% or 2.90 to $4,338.20 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February fell 0.16% or 0.09 to hit $57.33 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract fell 0.10% or 0.06 to trade at $60.79 a barrel.

USD/MXN was down 0.42% to 17.91, while EUR/MXN fell 0.62% to 20.99.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.12% at 98.16.

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Investing.com--The S&P 500 eked out a gain Friday on the first day of the trading year, as chip stocks jumped, but broader gains were kept in check by a stumble in major tech stocks including Microsoft and Meta amid light trading volumes.

At 4:00 p.m. ET (21:00 GMT), the S&P 500 was up about 0.2% while Nasdaq 100 closed roughly flat, but Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.7%, or 319 points.

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Chip stocks shine, but big tech stumbles; Tesla loses EV crown to BYD

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) led the move higher in the chip stocks, rising more than 1% and 10%, respectively, but gains in the broader tech sector were kept in check by slump in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META).

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) was also under pressure after EV maker reported that sales fell 16% in Q4 from a year earlier, weighed down by weaker demand in Europe and China. Adding to Tesla’s woes, Chinese EV maker BYD overtook Tesla to become the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles in 2025 after reporting 28% jump in sales of its battery-powered cars for 2025.

"The rebound this morning is being led by large-cap technology," Katie Stockton, founder of Fairlead Strategies, wrote in the morning note.

However, Stockton warns that "a short-term overbought downturn remains active to suggest there is heightened risk in the days ahead."

Trading conditions remain thin

Trading conditions are expected to remain thin, with many investors yet to return from the holiday break and fuller participation unlikely until early next week. Still, strategists at Deutsche Bank cautioned against reading too much into the early move.

“We shouldn’t extrapolate too far, as the first trading day has been an incredibly poor guide in recent times to how the rest of the year plays out,” strategists including Jim Reid wrote.

Still, the forces that dominated last year, particularly enthusiasm for artificial intelligence-linked stocks that helped drive all three major U.S. indexes to record highs in 2025, are likely to feature again this year.

"Long-term relative trends still favor technology for 2026, although the intermediate-term relative trend for tech has weakened for Q1," Stockton added.

Strong momentum faded into year-end, however, with the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow all posting declines over the final four sessions of 2025. The pullback ran counter to expectations for a so-called Santa Claus rally, which typically sees stocks rise over the last five trading days of December and the first two sessions of January.

Barclays warned that equity markets could turn choppy as they enter 2026 at elevated levels that are “over reliant on AI success.”

The bank’s strategists nonetheless expect further gains over the year, citing resilient corporate earnings and a favorable balance between economic growth and monetary policy.

Looking ahead, investors see U.S. monetary policy as a key driver. Expectations of a more dovish Federal Reserve, reinforced by recent economic data and speculation around future leadership, have led markets to price in additional rate cuts, setting the tone for global assets in 2026.