Small Caps Lead as Stocks Finish Mixed to Start 2026

The Trillion-Dollar AI Buildout Wall Street Isn’t Watching 👇

U.S. stocks closed mixed Friday in the first full trading session of the new year, with small caps outperforming as investors looked ahead to a packed week of economic data and the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 319.10 points, or 0.66%, to 48,382.4 at the closing bell. The S&P 500 added 12.97 points, or 0.19%, ending at 6,858.47. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 6.36 points, or 0.03%, to 23,235.6. The Russell 2000 gained 2.62 points, or 1.06%, to 248.78.

Market breadth leaned positive. Advancing shares accounted for 57.7% (3,196) of stocks, while decliners were 40.0% (2,218).

In other markets, the CBOE Volatility Index fell to 14.53, down 2.81%, signaling calmer conditions. Crude oil futures edged down 0.24% to $57.28 a barrel, while gold slipped 0.09% to $4,337.10. Bitcoin rose 1.78% to $89,727.16.

The calendar intensifies next week. The Institute for Supply Management is set to publish its manufacturing PMI for December on Monday, followed by S&P Global’s services PMI on Tuesday. Wednesday brings ADP’s nonfarm payroll report, and the U.S. Labor Department’s jobs report is due Friday, Jan. 9.

Meanwhile, attention is turning to CES 2026 (Jan. 6–9), where AI is expected to dominate product announcements. Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang is scheduled to deliver a keynote on Jan. 5, while AMD Chief Executive Lisa Su is set to highlight Ryzen AI laptop upgrades aimed at expanding “edge AI” computing. Shares of Nvidia rose 1.37%, while Intel climbed 6.87% and Qualcomm gained 1.57%, according to figures provided.