Market Roundup: What Happened Yesterday and What Awaits Us Today (January 9)

US stock indices ended Thursday’s session with mixed performance, as gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average contrasted with weakness in the technology-heavy Nasdaq, which came under pressure from declines in data storage stocks.

The Dow Jones rose 0.6% at the close, while the Nasdaq slipped about 0.4%, snapping a three-session winning streak. The S&P 500 finished little changed, edging higher by less than one point.

Oil prices surged in afternoon trading, with US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude futures jumping roughly 4.5% to around $58.50 a barrel. Energy and oilfield services stocks led gains within the S&P 500, with APA shares climbing 8%, while Halliburton and Occidental Petroleum rose about 6.2% and 5.5%, respectively.

In contrast, data storage stocks came under heavy pressure. Shares of SanDisk, Western Digital, and Seagate were among the worst performers in the S&P 500, falling between 5.5% and 8%.

Defense stocks posted notable gains following comments by US President Donald Trump on the Truth Social platform, where he suggested the 2027 defense budget could rise to $1.5 trillion from $1 trillion. Shares of Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and General Dynamics advanced between 2% and 4.5%, recovering some of the losses seen in the previous session after Trump signaled opposition to dividend payouts and share buybacks for defense contractors.

In the technology sector, Alphabet shares gained 1.1% to close at a record high, one day after the Google parent overtook Apple to become the world’s second-largest company by market capitalization behind Nvidia, with a valuation nearing $3.9 trillion. Apple shares, meanwhile, slipped about 0.5%.

Among post-earnings movers, Applied Digital, which focuses on artificial intelligence data centers, jumped 8.1%, while beverage giant Constellation Brands rose 5.6%.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury climbed slightly to around 4.19%, up from 4.16% on Wednesday, as investors digested fresh economic data, including weekly jobless claims, the US trade deficit for October, and third-quarter productivity figures.

In commodities and currency markets, gold futures rose 0.5% to about $4,485 an ounce, while Bitcoin traded near $90,800 with little change. The US dollar index gained 0.2% to 98.92.

Market outlook

Volatility in US markets is expected to persist in the coming sessions, with a positive bias toward energy stocks if oil prices remain elevated. The technology sector may stay under pressure amid profit-taking and higher bond yields. Overall market direction will depend on upcoming economic data and political developments that could influence interest rate expectations and growth sentiment, as investors remain highly sensitive to signals on monetary policy and government spending.