US stocks are near record highs in the post-Christmas session

Wall Street’s major indexes hovered around all-time highs in light post-Christmas trading on Friday as investors banked on more rate cuts and strong corporate earnings to push markets to new peaks next year.The benchmark S&P 500 hit an intraday record, closing in on the 7,000-point mark, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was about 0.3% off its Dec. 12 peak.

U.S. stocks have risen in recent days after months of periodic sell-offs, as AI-related companies came under pressure on concerns about rising valuations and high capital spending eroding profits.However, signs of economic resilience, the prospect of easing under a new Federal Reserve chair next year and renewed interest in AI stocks have fueled a market recovery, putting the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq on track for a third straight year of gains.

“2026 is likely to be a ‘prove-it’ year for the markets. Companies should realize tangible productivity and margin gains from AI and other investments,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.

Analysts expect earnings for S&P 500 companies to rise 15.5% in 2026, an improvement over the 13.2% growth forecast for 2025, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The S&P 500 is up more than 17% so far in 2025, driven by mega-cap tech companies for much of the year, but the rally has broadened recently, with investors focusing on cyclical sectors such as financials and commodities. according to Stock Trader’s Almanac – could happen this time. That period started on Wednesday and runs until January 5.

At 9:39 a.m. Dutch time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 10.77 points, or 0.02%, to 48,741.93. The S&P 500 rose 9.97 points, or 0.14%, to 6,942.02, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 42.38 points, or 0.17%, to 23,655.69.

Six of 11 S&P sectors posted gains, led by information technology, while utilities and industrials lagged.

Shares of Nvidia rose 1.5% after the AI ​​chip designer agreed to license chip technology from startup Groq and hire its CEO.

Biohaven fell 1.4% after its experimental depression drug failed to meet the headline target of an interim trial, adding to a series of setbacks for the company this year.

Coupang rose 8.6% after the online retailer said all customer information leaked from the South Korean company had been deleted by the suspect.

US-listed shares of precious metal miners such as First Majestic, Coeur Mining and Endeavor Silver rose between 1.8% and 3.3%, while silver and gold prices broke new records.

On the NYSE, advancing issues outnumbered declining issues by a ratio of 1.11 to 1, while declining issues on the Nasdaq outnumbered leading issues by a ratio of 1.34 to 1.

The S&P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite posted 18 new highs and 52 new lows.