US Equities Closed Higher

January 26, 2026 at 21:00 UTC

4 min read

US equities rally chart with focus on Durable Goods and Germany Ifo data impact on markets

Key Points

Scheduled US Durable Goods and Germany's Ifo releases kept investors attentive, and US equities finished the session higher across major indexes.
Sector leadership was concentrated in Utilities, Technology and Communication Services, while Consumer Discretionary and Staples underperformed, shaping intraday flows.
Company-specific earnings and deals drove idiosyncratic moves: RDW, GLW, FLY and APLD led gainers while CVLT and UNH were the largest decliners.

Global Market Summary

US equities closed higher after a session featuring scheduled macro releases, with the S&P 500 (SPX) up 0.50%, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) up 0.43% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) up 0.64%. European benchmarks were mixed: Germany's DAX (DAX) edged up 0.13% while France's CAC (FRA40) slipped 0.15% and the FTSE (UKX) was nearly flat (+0.05%). In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei (NKY) fell 1.79%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng (HSI) rose 0.06% and the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was marginally lower (-0.09%).

Top Movers

Strong sectors: Utilities (XLU +0.73%), Technology (VGT +0.72%) and Communication Services (XLC +0.69%). Weak sectors: Consumer Discretionary (XLY -0.66%) and Consumer Staples (XLP -0.16%). Notable stock movers: RDW +30.00% and GLW +15.18% led gainers, with FLY +16.63% and APLD +13.75% also strong; CVLT -31.39% and UNH -19.58% were the largest decliners.

Macro highlights

High-importance US Durable Goods Orders (1:30 PM) and Germany's Ifo Business Climate (9:00 AM) were the day's scheduled macro releases, keeping markets attentive to incoming data. With those releases on the docket, US equities finished higher (SPX +0.50%, DJIA +0.64%) while Japan's Nikkei (NKY) lagged (-1.79%).

News that moved markets

Brown & Brown's Q4 results showed total revenues of $1.6 billion driven by the Accession acquisition while organic revenue declined 2.8%, prompting a negative after-hours reaction for BRO. Nucor's Q4 print showed mixed metrics and the company guided to higher Q1 earnings, producing an after-hours share reaction for NUE, and RBB Bancorp reported Q4 net income $10.2M, EPS $0.59 and declared a $0.16 dividend. Completed transactions included Check-Cap clearing a Nasdaq requirement that advances its MBody AI merger toward completion and K Wave Media's completion of its acquisition of Rabbit Walk. Announced deals included Nexus Agriscience's acquisition of a biotech institute IP portfolio and KPS Capital Partners' planned acquisition of Novacel.

Upcoming session watchlist

Australia NAB Business Confidence (Dec) — forecast 2 vs 1 prior, Jan 27, 12:30 AM | Gauges business sentiment and short-term momentum in Australia's economy.

Key Takeaways

US benchmarks closed higher after scheduled macro releases kept markets attentive, producing broad gains across major US indexes.
Regional divergence was evident as Japan's Nikkei lagged while Hong Kong and Shanghai were near flat and European benchmarks traded mixed.
Sector performance was uneven with Utilities, Technology and Communication Services outperforming, while Consumer Discretionary and Staples underperformed.
Company-specific news, earnings and M&A activity produced notable stock-level moves and after-hours reactions, including negative reaction for BRO and mixed moves for NUE.