[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market furthered its hot start to the first full trading week of the year today, with broad gains pushing the S&P 500 (+0.6%) and DJIA (+1.0%) to fresh record highs. The Nasdaq Composite (+0.7%) performed similarly to the S&P 500, while the smaller-cap Russell 2000 (+1.4%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (+1.5%) indices outperformed. 

Today's action featured a notable AI-related catalyst in the form of another strong rally from semiconductor names. The PHLX Semiconductor Index advanced 2.8%, expanding its year-to-date gains to 8.0%. 

Memory storage names displayed particular strength after Microchip (MCHP 74.87, +7.81, +11.65%) issued a significant upward revision to its fiscal Q3 guidance, fueling a surge in the stock as the company signals a definitive end to its recent cyclical downturn. Sandisk (SNDK 349.63, +75.55, +27.56%), Western Digital (WDC 219.38, +31.50, +16.77%), Seagate Tech (STX 330.42, +40.59, +14.00%), and Micron (MU 343.48, +31.33, +10.04%) were all also among the top-performing S&P 500 names today as the demand for memory remains elevated amid the AI buildout cycle. 

NVIDIA (NVDA 187.28, -0.84, -0.45%) generated some premarket buzz following the launch of its Rubin platform, which is comprised of six new chips designed to deliver an AI supercomputer. However, the stock has struggled to distance itself from its 50-day moving average (186.76) in recent sessions, which limited the gains of the information technology sector (+0.7%). 

NVIDIA also announced an expansion into the autonomous driving sector with its open-source Alpamayo platform and partnerships with Visteon (VC 103.62, +4.63, +4.68%) and Hesai Group (HSAI 26.80, +2.55, +10.52%), which integrate high-performance lidar and cockpit systems into a unified "Rubin" AI platform that rivals Tesla's (TSLA 432.96, -18.71, -4.14%) Full Self-Driving (FSD) stack.

Tesla moved sharply lower in response, though another day of solid leadership from Amazon (AMZN 240.91, +7.85, +3.37%) and relative strength across cyclical names helped the consumer discretionary sector (+0.9%) notch a solid gain. 

Rideshare platforms, on the other hand, rallied at the news, which could help accelerate the global shift toward driverless fleets. Uber (UBER 85.54, +4.80, +5.95%) was one of the top-performing names in the industrials sector (+1.4%), which has put together two solid performances to start the week. 

The materials sector (+2.0%) would go on to notch the widest gain, additionally supported by metals prices rallying towards recent record high levels. 

The health care sector (+2.0%) finished similarly, as the sector saw broad-based strength after navigating a narrow range over the past three weeks.  Moderna (MRNA 35.66, +3.49, +10.85%) notched a double-digit gain after announcing it submitted its seasonal flu vaccine for regulatory approval. 

Meanwhile, only the energy (-2.8%) and communication services (-0.5%) sectors finished lower. The communication services sector faced weak leadership from Alphabet (GOOG 314.55, -2.77, -0.87%), while the energy sector saw several names that outperformed in response to developments in Venezuela give back some of yesterday's strength.  Chevron (CVX 156.58, -7.27, -4.44%), which is the only major oil company operating in the country, was the sector's worst performer.  Reuters reported this afternoon that Venezuela is in discussions to export oil to the U.S.

Ultimately, today's action reflected a market entering the new year with clear growth aspirations. Broad leadership across cyclical sectors reinforced confidence in the economic outlook, while outsized gains among memory storage names kept enthusiasm around the AI buildout firmly intact. Even with semiconductors providing a notable catalyst, the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (+0.3%) logged only a modest advance, suggesting that leadership is beginning to broaden beyond the largest growth names as the major averages continue to chart record highs. 

U.S. Treasuries dipped on Tuesday, giving back some of their gains from Monday. The 2-year note yield settled up two basis points to 3.48%, and the 10-year note yield settled up one basis point to 4.18%. 

• S&P Mid Cap 400: +4.2% YTD
• Russell 2000: +4.1% YTD
• DJIA: +2.9% YTD
• S&P 500: +1.5% YTD
• Nasdaq Composite: +1.3% YTD

Reviewing today's data:

• The S&P Global U.S. Services PMI hit 52.5 in the final reading for December, down from the flash reading (52.9) and down from the final November reading (54.1).

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.6%) and DJIA (+1.1%) look to capture record closing highs to go along with their record intraday levels as the market enters the final half hour of today's session. 

After trading flattish until midday, the small-cap Russell 2000 (+1.1%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (+1.5%) have traded steadily higher throughout the afternoon, now outperforming their larger-cap counterparts. 

Though there is certainly some AI enthusiasm in today's market, the mega-caps have had a relatively flat showing, with the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF up just 0.2%. Though the market-weighted S&P 500 (+0.6%) holds a solid gain, the S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index (+1.2%) decidedly outperforms. 

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.6%) has joined the DJIA (+1.0%) in notching a record high today, with the Nasdaq Composite (+0.6%) holding a similar gain. 

The energy sector's (-2.7%) retreat today now mirrors that of yesterday's advance, though the losses are more spread out than the previous gains. 

Chevron (CVX 156.61, -7.24, -4.42%), which is the only major U.S. oil company that operates in Venezuela, sits nearly even for the week (+0.2%) with today's loss. Meanwhile, more speculative oilfield services or refiner plays such as SLB (SLB 43.66, -0.14, -0.32%) (+8.6% WTD) and Valero Energy (VLO 178.29, -2.28, -1.26%) (+7.9% WTD) still hold strong week-to-date gains. 

Reuters reported that the Trump administration believes there are ways to quickly increase oil production in Venezuela, despite analyst estimates that it could take a number of years. 

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.65%) is in second place on Tuesday afternoon, up about 45 points.

Briefly, S&P 500 constituents Albemarle (ALB 160.52, +14.39, +9.85%), Qnity Electronics  (Q 90.25, +5.14, +6.04%), and Dollar General (DG 145.01, +6.67, +4.82%) pepper the top of the standings. ALB moves higher after Jefferies raised their target on the stock to $167 (from $152).

Meanwhile, American Intl (AIG 79.16, -5.22, -6.19%) slides as investors digest CEO Peter Zaffino's planned mid-year retirement and leadership transition to incoming CEO-elect Eric Andersen.

[BRIEFING.COM] With about two hours to go on Tuesday the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (+0.57%) is tied for second place, probing HoDs in recent trading.

Gold futures settled $44.60 higher (+1.0%) at $4,496.10/oz, as safe-haven demand strengthened amid renewed geopolitical uncertainty, while investors continued to lean into bullion as a hedge. The move was further supported by expectations for eventual Fed rate cuts, which have reinforced gold's appeal in a lower-yield outlook.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index is up about +0.3% to $98.57.

[BRIEFING.COM] The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.91%) is up about 445 points this afternoon.

A look inside the DJIA shows that Amazon (AMZN 241.73, +8.67, +3.72%), Sherwin-Williams (SHW 339.69, +7.49, +2.25%), and Salesforce (CRM 261.88, +5.62, +2.19%) hold solid gains.

Meanwhile, Chevron (CVX 156.64, -7.21, -4.40%) is lagging.

The DJIA is now +2.83% higher over the last two plus sessions.

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock has expanded upon yesterday's strong start to the week, with the S&P 500 (+0.5%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.4%), and DJIA (+0.9%) sitting higher across the board just after midday. Strength has broadened throughout the session, and the DJIA notched a fresh all-time high level for the second consecutive day this week. 

Eight S&P 500 sectors trade higher, with several notable moves in the mix. 

The materials sector (+2.0%) leads the advance as precious metal prices rally to challenge recent record-high levels. 

The health care sector (+1.8%) is another top mover, supported by a sharp gain in Moderna (MRNA 35.39, +3.22, +10.01%), while nearly all of the sector's components trade higher. 

UnitedHealth (UNH 352.46, +10.44, +3.05%) is a point of strength that contributes to the DJIA's push to fresh record highs. President Trump told GOP lawmakers in a speech that he will meet with health insurance companies in the coming days. 

Chipmakers are extending their early advance this year, with a 2.4% gain in the PHLX Semiconductor Index underscoring the information technology sector's (+0.6%) strength. 

Memory storage names such as Sandisk (SNDK 341.02, +66.94, +24.42%) and Western Digital (WDC 217.16, +29.28, +15.58%) continue to rally, with CNBC noting that memory is trading at a premium as the AI buildout drives higher demand for AI-related applications.  Microchip (MCHP 73.88, +6.82, +10.17%) also holds a double-digit gain after providing a significant upward revision to its fiscal Q3 revenue guidance. 

Meanwhile, NVIDIA (NVDA 189.18, +1.06, +0.56%) holds a modest chunk of its gain from earlier levels that followed the announcement of its Rubin chip launch at CES. 

The company also announced an expansion into the autonomous driving sector with its open-source Alpamayo platform, a headline that has sent rideshare names higher and Tesla (TSLA 430.36, -21.31, -4.72%) sharply lower. 

Amazon (AMZN 241.69, +8.63, +3.70%) continues to be a mega-cap standout this week, and in conjunction with another rally in travel industry names, the consumer discretionary sector (+0.8%) has been able to shake off Tesla's loss. 

The communication services sector (-0.8%), however, faces the wrong end of the market's mixed mega-cap performances that see the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (+0.1%) remain near its baseline. 

Elsewhere, the energy sector (-2.0%) faces the widest loss as several stocks that rallied in response to developments in Venezuela, including Halliburton (HAL 30.96, -0.97, -3.04%) and Chevron (CVX 157.46, -6.39, -3.90%), give back a chunk of yesterday's strength. 

The utilities sector (-0.3%) holds a more modest loss. 

Ultimately, broad participation in today's rally, led by chipmakers and mega-cap names, has pushed the DJIA to a fresh all-time high, while the S&P 500 hovers just 0.2% shy of its record level.

Reviewing today's data: 

• The final reading of the December S&P Global U.S. Services PMI registered at 52.5, from a prior level of 52.9.

[BRIEFING.COM] The DJIA (+0.8%) has notched a record high for the second consecutive day amid broad participation in today's action. 

Amazon (AMZN 240.53, +7.47, +3.21%) holds the widest gain, padding a solid gain yesterday that seats the stock with a 6.4% week-to-date gain. 

UnitedHealth (UNH 351.05, +9.03, +2.64%) is another outperformer, with health care provider names trading higher after President Trump said in a speech to GOP lawmakers that he will meet with health insurance companies in a few days. 

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.2%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.1%), and DJIA (+0.6%) are higher at midday. 

Microchip (MCHP 74.46, +7.40, +11.03%) provided a significant upward revision for its fiscal Q3 revenue guidance, fueling a surge in the stock as the company signals a definitive end to its recent cyclical downturn. The company now expects net sales to reach approximately $1.185 billion, comfortably exceeding the prior range of $1.109-$1.149 billion.

The company noted a "fairly broad-based recovery" across most end markets, including industrial, automotive, and aerospace. This turnaround indicates that the severe inventory correction, where customers worked through an oversupply of chips accumulated during the pandemic, is largely complete, allowing true demand to reflect in new orders.

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.3%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%), and DJIA (+0.5%) sit modestly higher shortly before midday amid a backdrop of relatively broad strength. 

Eight S&P 500 sectors trade higher, led by the health care (+1.7%) and materials (+1.4%) sectors. The health care sector sees strong gains across pharmaceutical and biotech names such as Moderna (MRNA 35.68, +3.51, +10.91%), while the materials sector is supported by a rally in metals prices. 

The top-weighted information technology sector (+0.2%) also holds a modest gain as chipmakers, and in particular memory chip makers such as Sandisk (SNDK 333.66, +59.58, +21.74%), continue to surge this year. The PHLX Semiconductor Index is up 2.3% today. 

NVIDIA (NVDA 188.28, +0.16, +0.09%), however, continues to struggle with maintaining gains throughout the course of a session. The stock traded higher by over 1.0% after announcing its next-generation chip is in full production, along with an expansion into the autonomous driving sector. 

The latter point in particular has weighed heavily on Tesla (TSLA 432.61, -19.06, -4.22%), though another strong gain in Amazon (AMZN 237.78, +4.72, +2.03%) helps mask the loss in the consumer discretionary sector (+0.1%). The communication services sector (-1.1%) is a laggard as its mega-cap components trade lower, trailing just the energy sector (-1.4%) today. 

Mixed performances across mega-caps have the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF down 0.1%, which limits index-level gains despite broad strength.

Outside of the S&P 500, the Russell 2000 (+0.1%) and S&P MidCap 400 (+0.3%) trade in line with the broader market. 

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages now trade in a steady range in between their unchanged levels and earlier session highs. 

NVIDIA (NVDA 190.15, +2.03, +1.08%) holds a solid gain following several developments this morning, one of which is the announcement of a unified autonomous driving platform that could accelerate the global shift toward driverless fleets. NVIDIA also announced new partnerships with Visteon (VC 99.92, +0.94, +0.95%) and Hesai Group (HSAI 25.62, +1.37, +5.65%), which integrate high-performance lidar and cockpit systems into a unified "Rubin" AI platform that rivals Tesla's (TSLA 436.24, -15.43, -3.42%) Full Self-Driving (FSD) stack.

For Tesla, these developments are perceived as a negative because they provide legacy automakers with an "off-the-shelf" path to high-level autonomy, potentially eroding the competitive moat TSLA built through its proprietary software and vision-only approach.

Meanwhile, rideshare names such as Uber (UBER 85.10, +4.35, +5.39%), Lyft (LYFT 19.74, +0.59, +3.08%), and Grab (GRAB 5.23, +0.14, +2.66%) trade higher, as NVIDIA's platform effectively expands the pool of potential robotaxi hardware available to these platforms, reducing their dependence on any single manufacturer like Tesla. 

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.4%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.5%), and DJIA (+0.4%) continue to trade higher as the broader market trends higher following a mixed opening. 

The energy sector (-1.2%) remains a laggard as several of yesterday's outperformers face some selling interest.  Halliburton (HAL 30.84, -1.09, -3.41%), Chevron (CVX 160.43, -3.42, -2.09%), and Valero Energy (VLO 178.19, -2.38, -1.32%) all face a modest pullback, but in each case today's losses are considerably narrower than yesterday's gains. 

Additionally, the price of oil has decreased $0.18 (-0.3%) to $58.14 per barrel. 

Stocks in the communication services sector (-0.6%) are also mostly lower, though the nine other S&P 500 sectors now trade higher. 

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.4%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.5%), and DJIA (+0.2%) sit modestly higher as the market sees a slight flip from yesterday's trends shortly after the open. 

Defensive stocks are outperforming this morning, with strong leadership coming from the health care sector (+1.7%). Pharmaceutical and biotech names such as Moderna (MRNA 34.30, +2.13, +6.62%) are among the outperformers, pushing the iShares Nasdaq Biotech ETF (IBB 170.42, +3.08, +1.84%) higher. 

The information technology sector (+0.7%) is also higher after closing with a modest loss yesterday. Semiconductors continue to surge in the new year, with the PHLX Semiconductor Index up another 2.4% today.  Sandisk (SNDK 327.60, +53.52, +19.53%) is the best-performing S&P 500 name by a considerable margin, while Microchip (MCHP 71.92, +4.86, +7.25%) also holds a nice gain after guiding Q3 revenues above consensus. 

Meanwhile, several cyclical sectors that outperformed yesterday, including the energy (-1.0%), consumer discretionary (-0.2%), and industrials (-0.2%) sectors, are lower this morning. 

The final reading of the December S&P Global U.S. Services PMI registered at 52.5, from a prior level of 52.9. 

The stock market is on track for a mixed, flattish opening amid a quiet morning of headlines. 

Yesterday's action saw a return to more typical volume levels as the market navigated developments surrounding Venezuela in addition to a smattering of corporate news items.

The DJIA managed to capture record highs, while the S&P 500 enters today's session just 0.6% off its own all-time high from December 26. 

The S&P 500 futures currently trade one point above fair value. 

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Tuesday on a mostly higher note with Japan's Nikkei (+1.3%) and South Korea's Kospi (+1.5%) settling at fresh record highs. The Chinese government has reportedly started selling local government bonds to increase investment. China's Ministry of Commerce will tighten control over exports of dual-use items to Japan. The People's Bank of China said that monetary policy will be maintained at an appropriately loose level with reserve requirement ratio cuts and interest rate cut flexibility this year.

• In economic data:
  • Japan's December Monetary Base -9.8% yr/yr (expected -8.0%; last -8.7%)
  • Hong Kong's December Manufacturing PMI 51.9 (last 52.9)
  • India's December Services PMI 58.0 (expected 59.1; last 59.8)
  • Australia's December Services PMI 51.1 (expected 51.0; last 52.8)

---Equity Markets---

• Japan's Nikkei: +1.3%
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng: +1.4%
• China's Shanghai Composite: +1.5%
• India's Sensex: -0.4%
• South Korea's Kospi: +1.5%
• Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: -0.4%

Major European indices trade on a mostly higher note while France's CAC (flat) lags amid weakness in bank stocks and consumer names. Eurozone's final Services PMI (52.4) reading for December showed a deceleration from the flash reading (52.6) and the final November reading (53.6). Germany's final December CPI will be released at 8:00 ET and it is expected to show CPI slowing to 2.0% yr/yr from 2.3%. Meanwhile, France's CPI decelerated to 0.8% from 0.9%, an outcome that was praised by Bank of France Governor Villeroy de Galhau.

• In economic data:
  • Eurozone's final December Services PMI 52.4 (expected 52.6; last 53.6)
  • Germany's final December Services PMI 52.7 (expected 52.6; last 53.1)
  • U.K.'s final December Services PMI 51.4 (expected 52.1; last 51.3)
  • France's flash December CPI 0.1% m/m (expected 0.2%; last -0.2%); 0.8% yr/yr (expected 0.9%; last 0.9%). Final December Services PMI 50.1 (expected 50.2; last 51.4)
  • Italy's final December Services PMI 51.5 (expected 54.2; last 55.0)
  • Spain's final December Services PMI 57.1 (expected 54.8; last 55.6)

---Equity Markets---

• STOXX Europe 600: +0.4%
• Germany's DAX: +0.4%
• U.K.'s FTSE 100: +1.1%
• France's CAC 40: flat
• Italy's FTSE MIB: +0.4%
• Spain's IBEX 35: +0.5%

The S&P 500 futures currently trade two points above fair value. 

Microchip (MCHP 69.69, +2.63, +3.9%) is nicely higher in the premarket after guiding its Q3 (December) revenue above consensus, experiencing a fairly broad-based recovery in most of its end markets. 

In other earnings and guidance news, AngioDynamics (ANGO 13.85, +0.62, +4.7%) is higher after beating EPS expectations by $0.10, beating revenue expectations, and reaffirming its FY26 EPS guidance while guiding FY26 revenues above consensus. The company's CEO will retire during FY27. 

Equity futures point to a flat opening this morning after a solid start to the week that saw the DJIA notch record highs as cyclical stocks excelled. 

The market had an overall muted response to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend. However, a number of energy stocks saw gains close to double digits as investors reacted to the possibility of U.S. companies getting involved in Venezuela's oil production. President Trump told CBS News that the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela, though he is "in charge" of the country. The president said it will take less than 18 months to rebuild the country's energy infrastructure, and the U.S. might reimburse the oil companies involved. 

Headlines are relatively quiet elsewhere as the market navigates the stretch of time between the holidays and the next earnings season. Yesterday marked the last session of the "Santa Claus rally period," which resulted in a flat showing from stocks over the holidays. 

NVIDIA (NVDA 189.24, +1.12, +0.6%) is up modestly in the premarket following comments from CEO Jensen Huang at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas regarding chip demand in China and the company's next-generation chip production. Mega-caps as a whole are mixed and flattish this morning. 

The market will receive the final reading of the December S&P Global U.S. Services PMI at 9:45 a.m. ET. 

In corporate news:

• Senators discuss extending Affordable Care Act subsidies for 2 months before a new plan is passed, according to Politico.
• Dell (DELL 124.50, +0.49, +0.4%) is aiming to expand its personal computer portfolio, according to The Wall Street Journal. 
• Eli Lilly (LLY 1,043.11, +1.60, +0.2%) cuts the price of Mounjaro in China, according to Bloomberg. 
• NVIDIA (NVDA 189.24, +1.12, +0.6%) CEO Jensen Huang said its next-generation Vera Rubin chip is in full production and expected to debut later this year, according to Reuters.  Additionally, Bloomberg reports that the company has seen strong demand in China for its H200 chip. 

Reviewing overnight developments: 

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Tuesday on a mostly higher note with Japan's Nikkei (+1.3%) and South Korea's Kospi (+1.5%) settling at fresh record highs. Japan's Nikkei: +1.3%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: +1.4%, China's Shanghai Composite: +1.5%, India's Sensex: -0.4%, South Korea's Kospi: +1.5%, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: -0.4%.

In news:

• The Chinese government has reportedly started selling local government bonds to increase investment.
• China's Ministry of Commerce will tighten control over exports of dual-use items to Japan.
• The People's Bank of China said that monetary policy will be maintained at an appropriately loose level with reserve requirement ratio cuts and interest rate cut flexibility this year.

In economic data: 

• Japan's December Monetary Base -9.8% yr/yr (expected -8.0%; last -8.7%)
• Hong Kong's December Manufacturing PMI 51.9 (last 52.9)
• India's December Services PMI 58.0 (expected 59.1; last 59.8)
• Australia's December Services PMI 51.1 (expected 51.0; last 52.8)

Major European indices trade on a mostly higher note while France's CAC (-0.4%) lags amid weakness in bank stocks and consumer names. STOXX Europe 600: +0.3%, Germany's DAX: +0.4%, U.K.'s FTSE 100: +0.9%, France's CAC 40: -0.3%, Italy's FTSE MIB: +0.4%, Spain's IBEX 35: +0.4%.

In news:

• Eurozone's final Services PMI (52.4) reading for December showed a deceleration from the flash reading (52.6) and the final November reading (53.6).
• Germany's final December CPI will be released at 8:00 ET and it is expected to show CPI slowing to 2.0% yr/yr from 2.3%.
• Meanwhile, France's CPI decelerated to 0.8% from 0.9%, an outcome that was praised by Bank of France Governor Villeroy de Galhau.

In economic data:

• Eurozone's final December Services PMI 52.4 (expected 52.6; last 53.6)
• Germany's final December Services PMI 52.7 (expected 52.6; last 53.1)
• U.K.'s final December Services PMI 51.4 (expected 52.1; last 51.3)
• France's flash December CPI 0.1% m/m (expected 0.2%; last -0.2%); 0.8% yr/yr (expected 0.9%; last 0.9%). Final December Services PMI 50.1 (expected 50.2; last 51.4)
• Italy's final December Services PMI 51.5 (expected 54.2; last 55.0)
• Spain's final December Services PMI 57.1 (expected 54.8; last 55.6)

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks advanced to start the first full trading week of 2026, with broad-based strength lifting the DJIA (+1.2%) to record highs while the S&P 500 (+0.6%) and Nasdaq Composite (+0.7%) also notched solid gains. 

Today's action featured notable outperformances across cyclical sectors, with the energy (+2.7%), financials (+2.2%), and consumer discretionary (+1.9%) sectors leading the strength. 

Energy names unsurprisingly garnered quite a bit of coverage today following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend. Maduro was charged with narco-terrorism in a New York court and pleaded not guilty this afternoon. 

Oilfield services names, such as Halliburton (HAL 31.92, +2.32, +7.84%) and SLB (SLB 43.80, +3.60, +8.96%), were among the top-performing S&P 500 names today amid speculation that the U.S. could become involved in rebuilding oil production infrastructure in Venezuela. Valero Energy (VLO 180.57, +15.26, +9.23%) captured a similar gain, as CNBC reported the company is best equipped to refine the particularly sulfur-rich oil that Venezuela produces, while Chevron (CVX 163.87, +7.97, +5.11%), the only major U.S. oil producer in the country, also notched a solid gain. 

Elsewhere, the financials sector was another outperformer today, supported by strength across major banking names such as Goldman Sachs (GS 948.44, +34.10, +3.73%) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM 334.04, +8.56, +2.63%) (both Dow components). Coinbase Global (COIN 254.92, +18.39, +7.77%) captured the widest gain after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral, raising its price target to $303 (up from $294), with Robinhood Markets (HOOD 123.24, +8.03, +6.97%) capturing a similar gain. 

Meanwhile, the consumer discretionary sector was supported by strong leadership from Amazon (AMZN 233.06, +6.56, +2.90%) and Tesla (TSLA 451.67, +13.60, +3.10%), which were standouts across mega-cap names today. 

However, the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF would advance just 0.3%, as the top-weighted information technology sector (-0.2%) was a laggard, with some of its largest components trading lower. The sector traded higher until just after midday, with losses across names such as NVIDIA (NVDA 188.12, -0.73, -0.39%), Apple (AAPL 267.26, -3.75, -1.38%), and Broadcom (AVGO 343.42, -4.20, -1.21%) pushing the sector lower. 

Despite losses across several prominent chipmakers, the industry as a whole extended Friday's strength, with the PHLX Semiconductor Index closing 1.1% higher. 

The defensive utilities (-1.2%), health care (-0.3%), and consumer staples (-0.3%) sectors underperformed amid the rotation into more cyclical holdings. 

Outside of the S&P 500, the Russell 2000 (+1.6%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (+1.2%) largely outperformed their larger-cap counterparts.  Comcast (CMCSA 28.13, -1.41, -4.77%) spin-off Versant (VSNT 40.57, -6.08, -13.03%) was not among the smaller-cap names to trade higher, facing a sharp loss on its first day trading on the Nasdaq. 

Ultimately today's action marked a step in the right direction that has been drifting over the past few weeks. While the major averages failed to notch meaningful gains over the "Santa Claus rally" period, today saw a return to more average volume levels as investors returned from holiday. Advancers outpaced decliners by more than a 2-to-1 margin on both the NYSE and Nasdaq, and the major averages posted gains despite a modest decline in the information technology sector-suggesting leadership may be broadening, even as strong performances from select mega-cap and semiconductor names continue to fuel enthusiasm around the AI trade.

U.S. Treasuries began the first full week of January with an advance that pressured yields on longer tenors from their December highs while the 2-year yield approached its December low. The 2-year note yield settled down two basis points to 3.46%, and the 10-year note yield settled down two basis points to 4.17%. 

• Russell 2000: +2.7% YTD
• S&P Mid Cap 400: +2.6% YTD
• DJIA: +1.9% YTD
• S&P 500: +0.8% YTD
• Nasdaq Composite: +0.7% YTD

Reviewing today's data:

• The ISM Manufacturing Index checked in at 47.9% for December (Briefing.com consensus: 48.4%), down from 48.2% in November. The dividing line between expansion and contraction is 50.0%, so the December figure, which is the tenth straight month below 50.0%, suggests manufacturing activity contracted at a faster pace than the prior month.
  • The key takeaway from the report is that the manufacturing sector operated in a state of contraction for the tenth consecutive month, with tariffs and weaker order activity cited as key drags on overall activity.