Insights

Wall Street began 2026 in rather lackluster style, with each of the major benchmark indexes listed here closing the week lower, with the exception of the Global Dow. A brief tech rally last Friday wasn't enough to prevent stocks from closing the week in the red.

The stock market declined for most of last week, only to rally last Thursday and Friday. The last two weeks have been "catch-up" periods for the economy with the release of a large influx of economic data following the 43-day government shutdown.

Wall Street experienced a mixed week highlighted by the Federal Reserve's policy decision (see below) and a retreat from technology shares. Illustrative of the week's volatility, the Dow and the S&P 500 reached record highs mid-week following the Fed's latest rate cut, before retreating at the end of the week.

The stock market was largely driven by mixed labor data and optimism over a possible interest rate cut following the Federal Reserve's meeting next week.

Wall Street experienced a strong Thanksgiving week, largely erasing losses from the preceding volatile period. Increasing hopes of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next month helped fuel the rally. After a shaky few weeks, tech stocks surged last week, driving the NASDAQ to its largest weekly gain in quite some time.

Volatility continued to characterize the stock market last week. Wall Street endured significant swings driven by a mix of key corporate earnings reports, important economic data following the government’s reopening, and shifting expectations for the Federal Reserve interest rate policy.

Last week was marked by the re-opening of the U.S. government after a prolonged shutdown. However, despite a significant boost to the stock market at the beginning of the week, the positive momentum waned as the week progressed as investors were concerned about high valuation of AI stocks and uncertainty over Federal Reserve policy.

The multi-week bull run ended last week, halted by a notable selloff of tech stocks. The NASDAQ experienced a sharp correction, driven by concerns of overpricing and high valuations, particularly in the technology sector.