S&P 500 is little changed as first-day gain sputters, chip stocks remain strong

The S&P 500 was relatively unchanged on Friday, the first trading day of 2026, as gains in semiconductor names kept the index’s losses in check.

The broad market S&P 500 traded around the flatline, as did the Nasdaq Composite. The two had been solidly positive earlier in the day, with the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq trading higher by 0.7% and 1.5% at their peaks, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved up 114 points, or 0.2%.

Key chip stocks such as Nvidia and Micron Technology climbed in the session. The former rose more than 1%, and the latter popped around 8%. Both artificial intelligence-related names were big winners in 2025 — Nvidia jumped about 39%, while Micron surged more than 240%.

But other areas in tech outside of chips suffered some losses. Notably, software stocks came under pressure, as Salesforce and CrowdStrike each dropped more than 3%. Additionally, Tesla shares were more than 1% lower after the company’s fourth-quarter deliveries missed analyst estimates.

Tech was the best trade of 2025, leading the broader market to sharp gain as investors continued to pile into AI names. The S&P 500 gained more than 16% last year, marking its third straight annual advance. The Nasdaq jumped more than 20% last year, and the 30-stock Dow advanced around 13%. The three benchmarks hit record highs last year.