NEW YORK, January 3, 2026, 11:58 ET — Market closed
- World stocks ended the week higher, with MSCI’s global index up 0.43% in the last session as Europe set fresh highs. Reuters
- Wall Street closed mixed: the Dow rose 0.66% and the S&P 500 gained 0.19%, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.03% as megacaps eased. Reuters
- U.S. Treasury yields ticked up into next week’s data, with the 10-year at 4.191% and investors focused on jobs data due January 9. Reuters
Global stock markets opened 2026 on a firm footing in the latest session, led by record highs in Europe and a landmark 10,000-point break in Britain’s FTSE 100, even as Wall Street ended mixed and U.S. yields edged higher. Reuters
The early tone matters because investors are shifting from year-end positioning to a fresh year of policy and growth signals, with markets leaning heavily on expectations for easier central-bank policy. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell is nearing the end of his tenure, keeping the Fed path in sharp focus. Reuters
A backlog of U.S. economic releases after the federal government shutdown has added to the sensitivity around each data print, at a time when traders are debating how much more the Fed can cut in 2026. Reuters
In the U.S., the Dow and S&P 500 snapped four straight declines on Friday, with chipmakers lifting the tape; the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 4%. Nvidia and Intel led some of the gains, while Apple and Microsoft weighed on broader benchmarks and Tesla fell 2.6% after annual sales dropped for a second year. Reuters
Joe Mazzola, head of trading and derivatives strategy at Charles Schwab, said the market is showing a “buy the dip, sell the rip” mentality, while investors stay alert to the prices they are paying for some artificial-intelligence-linked shares. Reuters
Across Europe, the STOXX 600 rose 0.7% to 596.14, extending last year’s rally as technology and defence stocks outperformed. ASML jumped 7%, and Orsted rose 4.6% after the Danish offshore wind developer said it was challenging the U.S. suspension of the lease for its $5 billion Revolution Wind project. Reuters
In London, the FTSE 100 finished up 0.2% after clearing 10,000 during the session, helped by defence and aerospace names including Rolls-Royce, Melrose Industries and BAE Systems. Data from Nationwide showed UK house prices fell 0.4% in December, leaving annual growth at 0.6% in 2025. Reuters
In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed up 1.75%, while Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.37%. Emerging market stocks, as measured by MSCI, rose 1.71%. Reuters
In rates, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.191% (a basis point is 0.01 percentage point), with investors looking to next week’s employment data for direction on growth and rate expectations. The dollar index firmed to 98.43, while the euro slipped to $1.172. Reuters
In commodities and crypto, gold rose to $4,329.57 an ounce and silver climbed to $72.39, while oil eased with Brent settling at $60.75 a barrel and U.S. crude at $57.32. Bitcoin rose to $89,789.87 and ether to $3,121.09. Reuters
Before the next session, traders will digest a Sunday OPEC+ meeting where the group is expected to keep first-quarter output levels unchanged, according to sources cited by Reuters, with the market still weighing oversupply risks after crude prices fell more than 15% in 2025. Reuters
U.S. payrolls data due January 9 is the first major test, with a Reuters poll pointing to 55,000 jobs added in December after 64,000 in November; investors are watching whether further labour-market cooling reinforces the case for rate cuts. Fed funds futures imply little chance of a cut at the late-January meeting and close to a 50% probability of a quarter-point move in March. Reuters
The calendar turns busier on January 13, with U.S. consumer price index data due and fourth-quarter earnings season beginning with JPMorgan’s results. Strategists have flagged that the S&P 500 is near record levels but still searching for direction, leaving markets sensitive to an upside or downside break as data and guidance arrive. Reuters
