Evening Market Recap - Monday, 5-Jan

U.S. equities finished mostly lower in Wednesday trading, closing near the worst levels of the session. Geopolitics and a heavy data slate dominated attention, though economic releases did little to shift Federal Reserve expectations. In corporate news, political commentary from President Trump drove sharp moves in defense and housing-related stocks and mergers and acquisitions remained a key source of support for select names.

U.S. equities finished higher in Tuesday trading, ending near session highs with the S&P 500 posting a fresh record close; its first since 24-Dec. A few dynamics were in focus today, with notable movers in both directions following Nvidia's CES keynote. Memory/storage and select semiconductor stocks were the big AI trade beneficiaries, while semiconductors more broadly were also supported by Microchip's guidance raise and a pro-cyclical rotation that defined Monday's session.

US equities closed higher in Monday trading, though ended a bit off best levels. Geopolitics dominated the headlines amid developments in Venezuela, but the impact on broader market sentiment was fairly muted. In macro news, December ISM manufacturing printed at 47.9, below the 48.7 consensus and November's 48.2

Stocks ended lower this week with most discussion centered on the failed Santa Claus rally/lack of seasonal tailwind, while broader macro catalysts were limited. December FOMC minutes offered no surprises, and reinforced expectations for cautious, gradual easing in 2026 though division within the Fed remains a key focus point. Housing data modestly surprised to the upside, jobless claims declined w/w, and markets continued to look ahead to early-2026 catalysts.

It was another very quiet, low-volume session ahead of tomorrow's Christmas Eve early close. Big tech was mostly higher with Nvidia faring best. Today's economic data offered mixed macro takeaways with stronger hard data (GDP, ADP private payrolls) but weaker soft data (Consumer Confidence, Richmond Fed Index).

US equities finished higher in Monday trading, ending not far from best levels. It was a fairly quiet session from a headline perspective, but the momentum from late last week carried over into a broad risk-on day. A bit of Fedspeak today in macro news.

Major US equity indices were mixed this week. Major AI infrastructure names saw additional scrutiny after reports of stalled negotiations for a $10B Michigan datacenter with Blue Owl Capital, Oracle's largest datacenter partner (though Oracle says the project remains on track). However, other AI headlines from the week were more upbeat, including a very well-received earnings report from Micron.

US equities higher in Thursday trading, just off their best levels. Disinflation traction and better tech/AI sentiment were the big pieces to today's risk-on, broad-based rally. Additionally, the day saw the coolest core CPI print in nearly five years adding support to dovish Fed narrative.

US equities were lower in Wednesday trading, finishing near worst levels, with the Dow Jones, S&P500, and Nasdaq closing down 47bps, 116bps, and 181bps respectively. AI weakness was the big story today following Financial Times report that Blue Owl backed out of an Oracle and OpenAI data center project in Michigan with no reprieve from Oracle comments project remains on track. Fedespeak from Waller remarks at Yale had a dovish cast. Today’s $13B auction of 20s was well received. Micron earnings after the close and President Trump addressing nation tonight.

Stocks were mostly lower with Energy and healthcare the big specific decliners. Rotational dynamics were mostly on pause with cyclicals/small caps mostly lower and AI-linked/semis/Big Tech trading mixed. Treasuries were a bit firmer after today's high profile economic data.