NEW YORK, January 4, 2026, 13:57 ET — Market closed
- Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU) rose 1.2% on Friday, closing at $43.18 on heavy volume
- NextEra reaffirmed 2025–26 adjusted profit targets in a Jan. 2 SEC filing ahead of investor meetings
- Traders are braced for a backlog of U.S. data next week, capped by the Dec. jobs report on Jan. 9
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 with delayed U.S. economic reports after a government shutdown disrupted the usual release schedule. Treasury yields — the interest rates on U.S. government debt — moved higher on Friday, a backdrop that can quickly reshape flows into dividend-heavy sectors.
The broader tape was mixed on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Dow edging higher while the Nasdaq slipped, Reuters reported. The 10-year Treasury yield ended around 4.191% as markets looked ahead to next week’s run of employment data.
Among big utilities names, NextEra Energy rose 0.8% on the day, Duke Energy gained 0.2% and Entergy climbed 1.6%. XLU traded as high as $43.38 and as low as $42.66 during the session.
NextEra said in a Jan. 2 filing that it continues to expect 2025 adjusted earnings per share — a profit metric that strips out certain items — of $3.62 to $3.70, and 2026 adjusted EPS of $3.92 to $4.02. It also reiterated a plan for dividends per share growth of about 10% annually through 2026, with senior management set to meet investors throughout January.
Duke said South Carolina regulators approved proposals that will flow storm-recovery and grid-investment costs into customer bills in early 2026, including a change starting March 1 for typical Duke Energy Carolinas customers. The company said securitization — issuing low-interest bonds backed by customer charges — would help cut the impact of Hurricane Helene recovery costs.
“Value is outperforming growth and AI infrastructure is up,” said Jed Ellerbroek, a portfolio manager at Argent Capital, in comments to Reuters on Friday. The view that data-center buildouts will lift power demand has been a key part of the utilities bull case. Reuters
But utilities can give back gains fast if rates reprice higher: a hotter-than-expected jobs print can push yields up and make dividends look less compelling, while regulators can tighten the screws on how quickly utilities recoup big infrastructure spending through customer bills.
The next test comes as cash markets reopen Monday, with traders watching Monday’s ISM manufacturing survey (Jan. 5) and a midweek cluster including ADP employment, ISM services and JOLTS. The main catalyst is Friday’s U.S. employment report for December, due at 8:30 a.m. ET on Jan. 9; BMO Capital Markets economists expect about 50,000 new jobs and the unemployment rate holding at 4.6%, Kiplinger reported.
