MARKET SNAPSHOT

U.S. stocks ended mostly higher on Friday to kick off 2026, though weakness in most of the Magnificent 7 stocks reversed early Nasdaq gains. Treasury yields inched higher ahead of a fresh batch of data releases. Gold prices dropped, marking the metal's worst week since 2021. Oil futures slipped. The U.S. dollar strengthened.

MARKET WRAPS

EQUITIES

Major U.S. stock indexes ended mostly higher on Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7%, and the S&P 500 added 0.2%. The Nasdaq composite ended roughly flat after rising in early trading.

Semiconductor stocks, including Nvidia, Intel and Micron, rallied, as did some other artificial intelligence names. Shares in Tesla fell, however, after the EV maker posted another annual drop in deliveries.

Some relief came on the trade front, after Washington delayed by a year tariff increases on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities, and slashed proposed duties on Italian pasta. Shares in home goods sellers, including Wayfair and Williams-Sonoma, jumped.

Stocks in Asia rose on Friday, as artificial-intelligence fervor extended into a new year.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 2.8%, in its best start to a trading year since 2013.

Chip stock Shanghai Biren Technology surged over 90% in its trading debut, the latest in a flurry of AI-related listings in the city.

Shares of Baidu jumped in both Hong Kong and the U.S. after its semiconductor unit filed for an initial-public offering.

Electric-vehicle stocks also rallied after car makers such as BYD posted sales data.

Elsewhere, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index rose around 0.2%.

Markets in mainland China, Japan and New Zealand haven't yet reopened for the new year.

COMMODITIES

Oil futures opened the year with a modest decline as the continuing Ukraine-Russia war and rising Middle East tensions countered concerns about oversupply.

"Despite all these geopolitical concerns, the oil market seems unmoved," said Phil Flynn of the Price Futures Group. "Oil prices are locked in this long-term trading range, and there's a sense that the market is going to be well supplied no matter what happens."

OPEC+ countries were due to meet Sunday, and were widely expected to reaffirm the decision to keep output targets unchanged in the first quarter.

WTI and Brent settled down 0.2% at $57.32 and $60.75 a barrel, respectively.

Gold prices, which shot up 65% last year, started off 2026 the same way they ended 2025: falling.

Gold futures fell 0.3% on Friday, adding to the sharpest weekly drop on record in dollar terms for the precious metal.

Front-month futures shed $220.40 a troy ounce during the week to end at $4,314.40. That breaks a three-week winning streak and shows how much of a high-stakes gambit precious-metals trading has become lately at such lofty prices-especially for the individual investors who have piled in.

It was only two years ago that gold prices would have had to tumble more than 10% to amount to a $220 weekly loss. The week's drop was 4.9%, the worst since June 2021 in percentage terms.

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

Furniture Stocks Rise as Trump Tariff Delay Gives 'Breathing Room' to Sector

Furniture stocks were rallying Friday morning as investors welcomed President Donald Trump's decision to delay an increase to sector-wide tariffs for a year.

Shares of RH were up 8.3% in early trading. Wayfair gained 7.2%; Williams-Sonoma, 5%; and Lovesac, 0.3%. Arhaus was up 2%.

The Trump administration slapped a 25% levy on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities in the fall. Levies on imported cabinets and vanities were set to rise to 50% on Jan. 1, while upholstered products, such as sofas and armchairs, were scheduled to face a 30% tariff rate.

Week Ahead for FX, Bonds: U.S. Jobs Data in Focus as Investors Gauge Rate Outlook

U.S. jobs data for December and ISM data on U.S. manufacturing and services-sector activity will be the key focus in the coming week as investors gauge the health of the economy and the likely timing of the next interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

In Asia, inflation readings from China, Australia and several Southeast Asian economies are likely to shape interest-rate expectations in 2026, while diplomatic developments could influence regional trade and investment sentiment. In Europe, eurozone inflation data will be watched.

Tesla Falls Behind China's BYD as Vehicle Sales Drop for Second Year

Tesla, once the top seller of electric vehicles, lost first place to China's BYD after reporting annual vehicle-delivery declines for the second year in a row.

Tesla sales were down 9% for all of 2025 and dropped 16% for the fourth quarter compared with a year prior.

The EV maker is adjusting to a shopping landscape disrupted by the end of federal subsidies. The company saw a surprise sales boost in the third quarter as U.S. buyers rushed to take advantage of the expiring $7,500 tax rebate. For the fourth quarter there was no special incentive.

Saks CEO Steps Down Ahead of Expected Bankruptcy Filing

Saks Global's chief executive is stepping down from the helm of the struggling luxury retailer ahead of an expected bankruptcy filing that could come within days.

Marc Metrick, who led Saks Fifth Avenue's 2024 merger with Neiman Marcus, is stepping down after nearly three decades with the company, Saks said Friday. Executive Chairman Richard Baker has taken over as CEO and will work closely with the company's management team "to advance Saks Global's transformation," it added.

The $2.7 billion merger was a bid to create a luxury-retailing juggernaut better able to streamline costs and hang on to the department stores' wealthy shoppers. But Saks has struggled financially since taking on the debt burden. A slump in demand for luxury goods and tensions with vendors have thwarted its efforts to revive sales.

Rivian Deliveries Decline Following Expiration of Tax EV Credit

Rivian's production and delivery totals declined in its first quarter since the expiration of a key tax credit for electric vehicles.

The EV maker on Friday said it produced 10,974 vehicles at its manufacturing facility in Normal, Ill., and delivered 9,745 vehicles during the fourth quarter of 2025. That is down from 12,727 vehicles produced and 14,183 delivered in the fourth quarter of 2024.

President Trump's tax law, signed in July, imposed a Sept. 30 expiration to an electric-vehicle federal tax credit worth up to $7,500. Rivian saw a surge in deliveries in the third quarter, with customers seeking to take advantage of the credit before it ended, leading to a dropoff in the fourth quarter. Rivian sold 13,201 vehicles in the third quarter, up 32% from the 10,018 sold in the third quarter of 2024.