Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on December 30, 2025 in New York.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
THE S&P500 rose on Friday, the first trading day of 2026, as the technology looked to continue its momentum from last year.
The broader market index gained 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.3%. THE Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 50 points higher, or 0.1%.
Friday’s gain marks a reversal from the first-day trading trend of recent years. The S&P 500 finished lower on the first day of trading in each of the last three years. Going back to the 1950s, there is no discernible trend, with the first day ending positive about 48% of the time, according to Bespoke Investment Group.
Nvidia shares rose more than 3%. The artificial intelligence-related name has been a big winner in 2025, rising about 39%. Other tech stocks Apple And Alphabet climbed 2% each.
Tesla shares were also higher despite the company’s fourth-quarter deliveries falling short of analyst estimates. Certainly, the numbers were better than the numbers whispered by Wall Street, which expected an even bigger decline.
Elsewhere, shares of an online housewares company Wayfair and luxury furniture retailer HR surged more than 5% and 6%, respectively, after President Donald Trump on New Year’s Eve delayed tariff increases on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities for a year. The order specifically delays a 30% duty on upholstered furniture and a 50% levy on kitchen cabinets and vanities, maintaining a 25% tariff on these products that was imposed in September.
Technology was the best trade of 2025, leading the broader market to big gains as investors continued to rush into AI names. The S&P 500 index gained more than 16% last year, marking its third consecutive annual gain. The Nasdaq Composite jumped more than 20% last year and the Dow Jones climbed about 13%. All three benchmarks hit record highs last year.
“It was a good year overall thanks to continued economic growth, optimism around AI and more rate cuts from central banks,” Deutsche Bank strategists wrote. “However, these gains masked enormous volatility, particularly in April when Liberation Day tariff announcements triggered the fifth largest two-day decline for the S&P 500 since World War II.”
Wall Street strategists expect more gains for the U.S. stock market in 2026. The CNBC Market Strategist survey shows the S&P 500’s average target for the year is 7,629, implying an 11.4% upside.
