2026.01.1614:40:42UTC+00US Stocks Rise on Friday, Tech Leads

On Friday, U.S. stock markets witnessed an upward trend, with the S&P 500 increasing by 0.3%, the Nasdaq rising by 0.5%, and the Dow Jones advancing approximately 90 points. This positive movement was largely fueled by investor confidence in the technology and AI sectors, bolstered by robust quarterly earnings and optimistic forecasts from TSMC. The technology sector outperformed other segments, while the utilities saw the steepest decline. Major tech stocks showed gains, including Nvidia with a 1.5% increase, Microsoft up by 0.5%, Alphabet up by 0.1%, Meta climbing 0.8%, Broadcom surging 2.6%, and Tesla rising by 1.2%. Additionally, Micron Technology saw an increase of over 7%, and Applied Materials rose by 3%, whereas Amazon and Apple remained relatively stable. In the earnings landscape, PNC Financial Services shares climbed 3.3% after exceeding market predictions on both earnings and revenue. Despite these gains, all three principal U.S. indices are tracking weekly losses, with the S&P 500 down by 0.3%, the Nasdaq declining by 0.6%, and the Dow Jones falling by 0.1%.