Market Highlights

Stocks and bonds bounced from session lows, but caution remained on Wall Street after the Trump administration escalated its attack on the Federal Reserve, raising concern about central bank independence. While the S&P 500 erased its drop and hit a new record, unease over interference in monetary policy kept a lid on the market. Capital One Financial Corp., American Express Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. sank as President Donald Trump called on credit-card companies to cap rates at 10% for a year. Alphabet Inc.’s value rose to $4 trillion. The rally in stocks extended into Asia, where cheaper valuations and higher growth prospects drew investors broadening their focus beyond US markets.

Wall Street brushed aside concerns about the Trump administration’s tariff regime to send US stocks to all-time highs in the firsttrading week of the new year. Bonds remained under pressure. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% Friday to a record while the Nasdaq 100 jumped 1%. Stocks had dipped briefly after the Supreme Court failed to weigh in on the fate of President Donald Trump’s import levies with consumer names, like Mattel Inc. and Deckers Outdoor Corp., left out of the rally. Small- cap and blue-chip benchmarks hit new peaks as equity gains broadened beyond just big tech names. US stock futures fell and the dollar weakened on concern over the Federal Reserve’s independence after Chair Jerome Powell said threats of a criminal indictment were a consequence of the central bank’s interest-rate policies.

Wall Street was cautiously optimistic, with big technology names once again sending US stocks inching back to all-time highs as traders digested mixed economic data and took stock of shifting geopolitical risks. Yields fell across the globe. The S&P 500 Index edged up to notch its second intraday record of 2026 on Wednesday. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.5%. Valero Energy Corp. climbed to an all-time high, leading shares of refiners higher after President Donald Trump said Venezuela would turn over millions of barrels oil to the US. The rally in US Treasuries was dampened after US services activity expanded in December at the fastest pace in more than a year, fueled by solid demand growth and a pickup in hiring. Earlier data from ADP Research was better received by the bond market after it showed hiring in December rose at a moderate pace, pointing to sluggish momentum heading into 2026. The yield on 10-year notes fell to 4.14%, with rates also moving lower across most of Europe.

US stocks closed at a new record on Tuesday, continuing a run driven by investor optimism over artificial intelligence and expectations of easier monetary policy from the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 Index finishedup 0.6% to top a closing high hit in late December. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index climbed 0.9%, while the small-cap focused Russell 2000 notched a 1.4% gain. Stock investors have largely shrugged off tensions in Venezuela to extend a three-year bull run fueled by demand for AI–linked shares. A weaker than expected US Services PMI reading reported on Tuesday bolstered rate cut hopes, with business activity and jobs market data due later this week. The record-breaking global stock rally lost momentum after a sharp run-up left markets showing signs of overheating.

US stocks finishedhigher on Monday, as investors snapped up tech shares even while the capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro fanned worries over geopolitical risk. Oil prices rose, along with gold. The Nasdaq 100 Index jumped 0.8%, with tech-focused megacaps such as Amazon.com Inc. and Tesla Inc. among the gainers. The benchmark S&P 500 Index followed suit, rising 0.6% as shares of energy companies and financialsrallied, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a new record. Brent crude rose as traders weighed the fallout from the developments in Caracas. Chevron Corp. shares traded higher, alongside other US oil majors, after President Donald Trump floatedplans for a US-led revival of Venezuela’s industry.

US stocks edged higher on Friday, as investors started 2026 on cautious footing following a year of strong equity performance while keeping an eye on rising Treasury yields. The benchmark S&P 500 Index closed up 0.2% after swinging between gains and losses earlier in the session. The Nasdaq 100 was down 0.2%, with both gauges dented by weakness in technology names. Shares of Tesla Inc. fell after the company reported deliveries for the fourth quarter that missed the average analyst estimate, while Amazon Inc. and Microsoft Corp. slid. A Bloomberg measure of Magnificent Seven stocks sank by about 1%. Gold and the dollar rose after the US moved to oust Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend, while riskier assets remained in demand as technology stocks outperformed.

US stocks slipped for a second straight day as traders trimmed bets on tech megacaps before the end of the year. Volatility gripped precious metals as silver retreated after touching a record high. The S&P 500 fell 0.3%, with shares of Tesla Inc., Nvidia Corp. and Meta Platforms among the Big Tech decliners. The Nasdaq 100 slid 0.5%. In US government bonds, the yield on 10-year Treasuries edged lower to 4.11%. Global stocks struggled for momentum amid a lack of positive catalysts heading into the end of the year. Silver and gold regained their footing after a plunge from fresh all-time highs.

The post-Christmas session on Wall Street saw stocks fluctuatingnear their all-time highs as recent signs of economic resilience reinforced positive expectations for corporate profits. While the S&P 500 barely budged amid a slowdown in transactions, the equity gauge posted its best week in a month. Most megacaps fell, but Nvidia Corp. rose on a licensing deal with artificial- intelligence startup Groq. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. paced gains in materials producers as gold hit a record. Global stocks held gains from a record-breaking run fueled by artificial intelligence that’s helped markets rebound from an April slump sparked by tariff concerns. Volatility gripped precious metals such as silver, which climbed to another all-time high

The holiday-shortened week started with gains in stocks amid a broad advance that saw a continuation of the bullish momentum on Wall Street. Oil and gold rallied as the dollar fell. Equities erased their December losses, with the S&P 500 set for an eighth straight up month - the longest winning run since 2018. Almost 400 of its shares rose Monday as the benchmark approached a record. Tesla Inc. and Nvidia Corp. led megacaps higher. A gauge of smaller firms climbed 1.2%. Global equities extended their record-breaking run, rising for a fourth straight day as a much- expected year-end rally took hold. The yen strengthened.

The last stretch of a busy week for markets saw stocks climbing while traders faced the expiration of a record pile of options that threatened to amplify price swings. Bitcoin jumped. Bonds fell. A rally in several tech names that have been under scrutiny over their ambitious artificial- intelligence spending plans lifted equities. The back-to-back advance in the S&P 500 wiped out its loss for the week. Nvidia Corp. led gains in megacaps. Oracle Corp. surged about 6.5%. Global stocks advanced to a one-week high as investors bet on a strong finishto the year for markets following a rally in US shares on Friday.