US Stocks Hit Records as Chips, Housing Surge

January 10, 2026 at 07:14 UTC

4 min read

US stock market record highs with chip and housing sector surge, bullish chart, and labor data trends

Key Points

S&P 500 and Dow closed at fresh record highs to end 2026’s first full trading week
December jobs report showed slower hiring but a lower unemployment rate of 4.4%
Intel jumped about 11% after Trump praised CEO Lip-Bu Tan and U.S. chip leadership
Homebuilders and power producers rallied on Trump’s mortgage plan and Meta energy deals

Indexes Log New Records on Mixed Jobs Data

Major U.S. stock indexes closed at record highs on Friday as investors digested a mixed December jobs report and policy signals from Washington. The S&P 500 rose about 0.6% to 6,966.28, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained roughly 0.5% to 49,504.07, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.8% to 23,671.35. For the week, all three benchmarks posted solid gains, capping the first full trading week of 2026 with broad advances across sectors. The Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls increased by 50,000 in December, below economists’ expectations of around 70,000, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.4% from 4.6% in November. Average hourly earnings rose more than expected. The data reinforced a picture of a “low-hire, low-fire” labor market that is slowing but still relatively firm. Treasury yields were mixed, with the 10-year yield hovering near 4.17%. Futures pricing from CME Group showed traders assigning only about a 5% probability to a Federal Reserve rate cut at its late-January meeting, though markets still anticipate at least two cuts later in the year. A University of Michigan survey showed consumer sentiment improving in January, with one-year inflation expectations at their lowest level in about a year in one report, while another reading showed longer-term inflation expectations edging higher.

Chipmakers Lead Gains as Intel Soars on Political Support

Semiconductor stocks were among the strongest performers, helping drive the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to new highs. Broadcom gained more than 3.5%, while Lam Research, Applied Materials, ASML, KLA, Micron and several data storage names posted sizable advances. Intel was a standout, rallying about 10.8% to $45.55 on volume roughly double its three-month average. The move followed comments from President Donald Trump, who said he had a “great meeting” with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan and praised the company’s leadership. Trump highlighted Intel’s new Core Ultra Series 3 processors, described as the first sub-2-nanometer CPU designed, built and packaged in the U.S. He also pointed to the federal government’s 10% equity stake in Intel, acquired in August for $8.9 billion using CHIPS and Science Act grants and other programs. With Intel shares now trading in the mid-$40s, Trump said the position has generated “tens of billions of dollars” in gains for U.S. taxpayers. The show of political backing added to optimism around the broader AI and semiconductor cycle, even as some peers such as Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia were little changed to slightly lower on the day.

Housing and Power Stocks Jump on Mortgage Plan and Meta Deals

Housing-related and power producers also rallied after new policy and corporate announcements. Late Thursday, Trump said he had directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase $200 billion in mortgage bonds, a move aimed at lowering longer-term mortgage rates and supporting housing demand. Reports indicated mortgage rates fell below 6%, and traders cited the plan as a catalyst for homebuilder strength. Builders FirstSource surged about 12%, while Lennar, D.R. Horton, PulteGroup, Toll Brothers and KB Home all climbed between roughly 6% and 9%. Home Depot gained more than 2% to 4%, leading Dow components. Separately, power company Vistra jumped about 10.5% after Meta Platforms agreed to 20-year deals to buy electricity from three of its nuclear plants. Oklo rose around 7.9% after announcing a separate agreement with Meta that will help secure nuclear fuel and advance a planned facility in Pike County, Ohio. Other power producers, including Constellation Energy, NuScale Power and NRG Energy, also advanced as investors focused on long-term energy supply for data centers tied to AI growth.

Broader Market Breadth Improves as Rate Bets Shift

Beyond technology and housing, gains extended to materials, industrials and small-cap stocks, signaling a broadening of the rally that had previously been dominated by mega-cap AI names. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 0.8% on Friday and 4.6% for the week, outpacing the S&P 500’s 1.6% weekly gain. Analysts cited optimism that the U.S. economy can achieve a soft landing, supported by moderating inflation and steady employment. At the same time, the Supreme Court delayed a ruling on the legality of Trump’s tariffs until Jan. 14, leaving some uncertainty for trade-sensitive sectors and contributing to weakness in select retailers. Globally, European and Asian equity markets also advanced, with the Euro Stoxx 50 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 hitting notable highs and China’s Shanghai Composite reaching a 10.5-year peak. While Fed officials, including Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, reiterated concerns that inflation remains too high, markets continued to price in eventual rate cuts later in 2026, a backdrop that has helped support equity valuations at record levels.

Key Takeaways

Record closes for the S&P 500 and Dow were driven by strength in chips, housing and power producers rather than just mega-cap tech.
Intel’s double-digit surge reflected both AI optimism and explicit U.S. government backing, underscoring policy’s growing role in chip strategy.
Trump’s directive on $200 billion of mortgage bond purchases quickly fed through to housing-related stocks, highlighting markets’ sensitivity to rate signals.