NEW YORK, January 3, 2026, 13:08 ET — Market closed
- Semiconductor shares outperformed on Wall Street’s first session of 2026, while several megacap tech names fell.
- Nvidia and Intel rose, but Microsoft, Apple and Tesla pulled on the Nasdaq.
- Investors are watching next week’s U.S. jobs and inflation data for fresh signals on rate cuts and tech valuations.
Semiconductor stocks drove Wall Street’s first session of 2026, pushing a key chip gauge up about 4% and helping the Dow and S&P 500 finish higher, while declines in Apple and Microsoft kept the Nasdaq flat. The Dow rose 0.66%, the S&P 500 added 0.19% and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.03%, extending the market’s failure to deliver a “Santa Claus rally” — the tendency for stocks to rise in the last five sessions of December and first two of January. Reuters
Tech stocks set the tone for broad indexes because a handful of mega-cap names carry outsized weight, particularly in the Nasdaq. When investors sell those leaders, gains elsewhere in the sector can be hard to see.
That matters now as traders start a year packed with economic data and earnings that will shape interest-rate expectations and corporate spending plans. Tech valuations are especially sensitive to rates because much of their earnings are expected further out.
In individual names, Nvidia rose 1.26% and Micron Technology jumped 10.51%, while Western Digital gained 8.96%; Intel climbed 6.72%. Microsoft fell 2.21%, Tesla slid 2.59% and Amazon dropped 1.87%, with Apple down 0.31%. Investing
Friday’s chip-led resilience did not erase the week’s losses. The Nasdaq fell 1.5% for the holiday-shortened week, while the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 each fell 1%; the S&P 500 still finished 2025 up more than 16%. AP News
Policy headlines also stayed on the radar for chip-related dealmaking. President Donald Trump blocked U.S. photonics firm HieFo Corp’s $3 million acquisition of assets at New Jersey-based Emcore, citing national security and China-related concerns, and ordered divestment within 180 days. Reuters
Before the next session, Tesla’s deliveries will stay front and center after the EV maker lost the top global sales spot to China’s BYD and posted its second straight annual decline. Tesla said it delivered 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, down about 8.6%, and is set to report fourth-quarter results on Jan. 28. “Investors are so focused on the future with Tesla that they are ignoring delivery numbers,” said Dennis Dick, a trader at Triple D Trading. Reuters
Investors also face a busy macro calendar next week, with the U.S. jobs report due Jan. 9 and consumer price index data due Jan. 13. Fed funds futures, derivatives that reflect market pricing for the Federal Reserve’s policy rate, imply little chance of a cut at late January’s meeting but nearly a 50% chance of a quarter-point reduction in March; strategists say the S&P 500 is near record highs but has been trading around the same level it held in late October. Reuters
Any re-pricing of rate cuts tends to hit growth shares first. Tech investors will look for signs the chip strength reflects sustained data-center demand rather than a one-day rotation.
Earnings season ramps up in January, and guidance on AI-related spending, cloud growth and consumer electronics demand will be the next test for the sector. Until then, traders are likely to treat big swings in a few megacaps as the day-to-day steering wheel for the Nasdaq.
