NEW YORK, Jan 4, 2026, 17:03 ET — Market closed
- Alphabet’s non-voting Class C shares (GOOG) ended Friday up 0.5% at $315.32, outpacing a near-flat Nasdaq.
- A Form 4 filing showed Alphabet’s top lawyer John Kent Walker transferred 17,829 Class C shares in a gift transaction dated Dec. 31.
- Traders are eyeing support near $310 and resistance near the $329 area ahead of the Jan. 9 U.S. jobs report and early earnings season. Reuters
Alphabet Inc’s Class C shares (GOOG) rose 0.5% on Friday to $315.32, finishing the week higher as U.S. markets opened 2026 with choppy trading.
That matters now because Alphabet is one of the largest weights in U.S. equity benchmarks, and January’s data calendar is set to drive rate expectations that can reprice megacap tech quickly.
The next macro jolt is the Jan. 9 U.S. employment report, followed by the Jan. 13 consumer price index. Fed funds futures show investors are still debating how quickly the Federal Reserve can cut again after lowering rates at each of its last three meetings of 2025, Reuters reported. Reuters
In company-specific disclosures, a filing on Friday showed John Kent Walker, Alphabet’s president of global affairs and chief legal officer, shifted 17,829 Class C shares from direct ownership into a trust in a transaction recorded as a gift at $0. Walker reported holding 23,506 Class C shares directly after the move, the filing showed.
Alphabet’s Class C line carries no voting rights, unlike its Class A shares, but the two typically track each other closely. GOOG traded between $310.71 and $322.86 on Friday, leaving the $310 area as the nearest chart support for short-term traders.
Technical watchers have also marked the upper end of the recent range. Investor’s Business Daily said Alphabet is building a “flat base” — a consolidation pattern — and pegged $328.83 as a breakout level that some momentum traders use as a trigger.
Sentiment across big tech remains tied to how much investors are willing to pay for AI-linked earnings. “Investors might be a little bit more conscious about some of the valuations that they’re paying for some of the AI plays,” Joe Mazzola, head of trading and derivatives strategist at Charles Schwab, told Reuters. Reuters
Alphabet outperformed some peers in that backdrop. Microsoft fell 2.2% on Friday and Meta Platforms slid about 1.4%, while chipmakers helped steady broader indexes, leaving the Nasdaq down just 0.03%, Reuters reported. Reuters
But the setup cuts both ways. A stronger jobs print or stickier inflation can push yields higher and pressure higher-multiple stocks, while Alphabet’s longer-running antitrust and regulatory disputes remain a separate overhang that can reshape parts of its search and app-store economics.
Markets reopen Monday with CES in Las Vegas running Jan. 6-9, and the Jan. 9 payrolls report as the next clear catalyst. Alphabet has not announced a date for fourth-quarter results; Investing.com’s earnings calendar lists Feb. 3.
