A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) after the opening bell in New York on Jan. 2, 2026.
Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images
The S&P 500 was relatively unchanged on Friday, the first trading day of 2026, as gains in semiconductor names kept losses in check.
The broad market index traded around the flatline, as did the Nasdaq Composite. The two had been higher earlier in the day, with the S&P 500 up 0.7% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq higher by 1.5%, respectively, at their peaks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 145 points, or 0.3%.
Key chip stocks such as Nvidia and Micron Technology saw gains, with the former rising more than 1% and the latter popping more than 7%. The artificial intelligence-related names were big winners in 2025. Nvidia jumped about 39%, while Micron surged more than 240%.
But other areas in technology outside of the chip space suffered some losses. Notably, software stocks came under meaningful pressure, as Salesforce and CrowdStrike each dropped more than 3%. Additionally, Tesla shares were more than 1% lower after the company’s fourth-quarter deliveries missed analyst estimates.
Tech was the best trade of 2025, leading the broader market to sharp gain as investors continued to pile into AI names. The S&P 500 gained more than 16% last year, marking its third straight annual advance. The Nasdaq jumped more than 20% last year, and the 30-stock Dow climbed around 13%. The three benchmarks hit record highs last year.
“We think that you will have this ongoing rotation back and forth between tech and non-tech, but that overall we’ll drift higher in a normal seasonal pattern and get somewhere around 8,000,” Jay Hatfield, Infrastructure Capital Advisors CEO, said of his year-end price target for the S&P 500. He added that the rally will be “better balanced” as regional banks do “really well” and tech stocks that are considered “massively overvalued” like Tesla underperform.
Wall Street strategists expect more gains for the U.S. stock market in 2026. The CNBC Market Strategist Survey shows the average S&P 500 target for the year is 7,629, which implies upside of 11.4%.
“There are themes besides tech that are very likely to work this year,” he added.
Friday’s session had some bright spots elsewhere in the broader market besides chips. Shares of Wayfair and RH jumped more than 8% and 6%, respectively, after President Donald Trump on New Year’s Eve postponed tariff increases on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities for a year. The order specifically delays a 30% duty on upholstered furniture and 50% levy on kitchen cabinets and vanities, keeping in place a 25% tariff on those goods that was imposed back in September.
