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Stock Market News 4 January 2026

Utilities stocks jump to start 2026 as XLU rallies; NextEra outlook and U.S. jobs data in focus

Utilities stocks jump to start 2026 as XLU rallies; NextEra outlook and U.S. jobs data in focus

NEW YORK, January 4, 2026, 13:57 ET — Market closed U.S. utilities stocks opened 2026 with a firm bid, pushing the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU) up 1.2% to close at $43.18 on Friday, with about 20.5 million shares changing hands. U.S. markets were closed on Sunday. XLU is widely used as a proxy for large-cap U.S. utilities, tracking the sector inside the S&P 500. The group often trades as “rate-sensitive” because its steady dividends can look less attractive when bond yields rise. State Street Global Advisors That sensitivity matters now because investors are heading into a week packed
4 January 2026
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Why basic materials stocks are back in play after XLB’s New Year rally

Why basic materials stocks are back in play after XLB’s New Year rally

NEW YORK, Jan 4, 2026, 13:56 ET — Market closed The Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB), a widely watched proxy for U.S. basic materials stocks, rose 0.77, or 1.7%, to $46.12 in the first session of 2026, ending within 31 cents of its 52-week high. Investing That early bid matters because materials are one of the market’s cleanest reads on inflation and global demand. When metals and chemicals move, investors are usually responding to a mix of growth expectations and the path for U.S. interest rates. The calendar turns quickly from holiday trading to hard data. The U.S. employment
4 January 2026
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Nvidia stock heads into CES week after insider sale filing puts NVDA back in focus

Nvidia stock heads into CES week after insider sale filing puts NVDA back in focus

NEW YORK, Jan 4, 2026, 13:49 ET — Market closed Nvidia (NVDA.O) shares closed up 1.2% on Friday after a company officer filed notice of a planned share sale, with investors also bracing for CEO Jensen Huang’s headline slot at CES in Las Vegas. SEC The filing matters because it lands at the start of a year when the market is looking for fresh proof that the artificial-intelligence spending boom is still translating into revenue and margins, not just bigger capital budgets. It also comes as tech valuations remain sensitive to interest-rate expectations, after Federal Reserve officials warned this weekend
4 January 2026
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Indore water crisis widens to nerve-disorder fears as Mangaluru clears chargers for 100 e-buses

Indore water crisis widens to nerve-disorder fears as Mangaluru clears chargers for 100 e-buses

NEW DELHI, Jan 4, 2026, 13:54 ET A drinking-water contamination outbreak in Indore has taken a fresh turn after doctors flagged symptoms consistent with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disorder in which the immune system attacks nerves, in a 67-year-old patient from the city’s Bhagirathpura area, NDTV reported. Officials have confirmed six deaths in the diarrhoea outbreak, while local residents have claimed the toll is 16. Ndtv The suspected neurological complication matters because it could widen the public-health response from short-term gastroenteritis to longer-term disability, raising pressure on authorities to explain what went wrong with the city’s water supply and how
4 January 2026
Vertiv stock jumps on Barclays upgrade, $200 target; U.S. jobs report looms for AI-linked industrials

Vertiv stock jumps on Barclays upgrade, $200 target; U.S. jobs report looms for AI-linked industrials

NEW YORK, Jan 4, 2026, 14:01 ET — Market closed Vertiv Holdings shares jumped 8.4% on Friday after Barclays upgraded the industrial stock to overweight and lifted its price target to $200. “The recent selloff in the shares creates an attractive entry point,” Barclays analyst Julian Mitchell wrote. TipRanks The upgrade matters now because the market has started 2026 trying to separate durable “picks-and-shovels” beneficiaries of artificial intelligence from the frothier corners of the trade. Vertiv sells the power and cooling gear that data centers need to run denser, heatier AI workloads. That theme helped value-tilted sectors including industrials hold
4 January 2026
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Consumer Cyclical Stocks wobble into Monday as Tesla drags XLY and jobs report looms

Consumer Cyclical Stocks wobble into Monday as Tesla drags XLY and jobs report looms

NEW YORK, January 4, 2026, 13:55 ET — Market closed The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF, a widely followed proxy for consumer cyclical stocks, ended Friday down 0.9% at $118.35 as Tesla and Amazon fell. Consumer cyclical stocks—companies tied to discretionary spending on items like cars and home furnishings—often swing with shifts in jobs and interest-rate expectations. That sensitivity matters heading into the first full trading week of 2026, with key U.S. data set to reset the market’s view on growth and rate cuts. Reuters “The market is looking for direction,” Matthew Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak,
4 January 2026
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Freshworks stock drops 5% to start 2026 — what matters before Monday’s open (FRSH)

Freshworks stock drops 5% to start 2026 — what matters before Monday’s open (FRSH)

NEW YORK, Jan 4, 2026, 13:47 ET — Market closed Freshworks Inc shares closed down 5.3% at $11.60 on Friday and ticked up 0.5% in after-hours trading, when U.S. stocks change hands electronically outside the regular 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. session. The software maker is valued at about $3.3 billion and is near the lower end of its 52-week range. MarketBeat The move matters because investors opened 2026 with a cautious eye on interest rates, a key input for valuing growth stocks that rely on future cash flows. U.S. Treasury yields pushed higher on Friday, with the 10-year yield
4 January 2026
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Asana stock slides 5% to start 2026 — downgrade and key dates that could move ASAN next

Asana stock slides 5% to start 2026 — downgrade and key dates that could move ASAN next

NEW YORK, January 4, 2026, 13:41 ET — Market closed. Asana, Inc. (ASAN) shares fell about 5.4% on Friday to $12.96, finishing near the session low after trading between $12.92 and $13.84. Research outlet Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to “hold” from “buy” on Saturday, MarketBeat reported. MarketBeat The slide leaves Asana heading into Monday’s reopen with investors focused on whether 2026 brings more rate relief or a longer pause. Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson said on Saturday that another U.S. rate cut could take a while, after the Fed lowered rates by 75 basis points in 2025, Reuters
4 January 2026
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Cloud computing stocks slide into 2026 as yields rise — what CLOU ETF investors watch next

Cloud computing stocks slide into 2026 as yields rise — what CLOU ETF investors watch next

NEW YORK, January 4, 2026, 13:43 ET — Market closed The Global X Cloud Computing ETF fell 2.34% on Friday to $22.09, ending the first U.S. trading session of 2026 on the back foot as investors trimmed rate-sensitive cloud software exposure. Global X ETFs The timing matters because cloud stocks have become a crowded way to express bets on corporate digital spending and AI-linked demand, but they tend to wobble when bond yields rise. On Friday, U.S. stocks finished mixed with the Nasdaq edging lower as megacap tech weighed, while Treasury yields climbed. Reuters Policy expectations are also moving. Philadelphia
4 January 2026
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ZoomInfo stock slides 5.5% — key levels and the next dates investors are watching

ZoomInfo stock slides 5.5% — key levels and the next dates investors are watching

NEW YORK, Jan 4, 2026, 13:41 ET — Market closed ZoomInfo Technologies Inc (GTM.O) shares closed down 5.5% on Friday at $9.61, setting the software and data company up for a cautious start to the new week when U.S. markets reopen on Monday. The selloff pushed the stock below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages — common charting gauges that smooth daily price swings — at about $10.23 and $10.45, MarketBeat data showed. The same dataset put ZoomInfo’s consensus analyst rating at “Hold” with an average price target of roughly $11.79, leaving shares about 18% below that level after Friday’s
4 January 2026
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Nike stock (NKE) heads into Monday after Friday dip as insiders and jobs data loom

Nike stock (NKE) heads into Monday after Friday dip as insiders and jobs data loom

NEW YORK, Jan 4, 2026, 12:45 ET — Market closed Nike, Inc. shares slipped in the first trading session of 2026, closing Friday down 0.67% at $63.28. The stock traded between $62.55 and $64.13, with about 22.2 million shares changing hands. StockAnalysis That matters now because Nike is trying to stabilize a multi-quarter reset while investors look for early proof the turnaround is working. In its last quarterly report, Nike said gross margin fell 300 basis points — three percentage points — to 40.6%, and Nike Direct revenue declined as digital sales dropped 14%. Macro risk is back in focus
4 January 2026
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Barclays upgrades Vertiv and this data center stock jumps 8% — what traders watch next

Barclays upgrades Vertiv and this data center stock jumps 8% — what traders watch next

NEW YORK, Jan 4, 2026, 13:25 ET — Market closed Vertiv Holdings (VRT.N), a supplier of power and cooling equipment used in data centers, closed Friday up 8.4% after Barclays upgraded the stock to overweight, meaning it expects the shares to outperform. “The recent volatility in the stock has created an attractive entry point,” Barclays analyst Julian Mitchell wrote. Barron’s The call matters now because investors are re-pricing “picks-and-shovels” beneficiaries of data-center buildouts heading into 2026, after a choppy finish to the year for high-multiple industrial tech suppliers. A single upgrade can have an outsized impact when positioning is crowded
4 January 2026
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Stock Market Today

No $2,000 IRS stimulus check is coming in February 2026 — but Trump’s tariff-check talk keeps the rumors alive

No $2,000 IRS stimulus check is coming in February 2026 — but Trump’s tariff-check talk keeps the rumors alive

7 February 2026
The IRS has not announced new federal stimulus payments for February 2026, and Congress has not approved fresh checks. Trump told NBC he is considering $2,000 tariff rebate checks but has not committed, saying any payout would likely come later in 2026. The IRS warns taxpayers to ignore texts and emails about “stimulus payments” and verify notices through official channels.
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