S&P 500 Kicks Off 2026 with a Tech-Fueled Rally
The S&P 500 opened 2026 with a 1.1% pop as semiconductor shares rallied worldwide and mega-cap tech resumed last year’s winning ways.
Tech’s New-Year Spark Ignites Wall Street
NEW YORK—The opening bell of 2026 sounded more like a starting gun than a ceremonial chime. By 9:35 a.m., the S&P 500 had already tacked on 1.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 320 points, and the Nasdaq Composite leapt 1.6% as chipmakers and cloud giants resumed the momentum that carried markets through the final quarter of 2025.
Chip Rally Goes Global
At the center of the action: semiconductor stocks. Taiwan Semiconductor rose 4% in pre-market action after guiding first-quarter revenue above consensus, a move that rippled through Asia overnight. Dutch lithography bellwether ASML tacked on 3.8% in Amsterdam, while Tokyo’s Advantest closed 5% higher. On U.S. exchanges, Nvidia and AMD each gained more than 3% before lunchtime.
“The AI build-out isn’t a 2025 story—it’s a decade-long capex cycle,” said Melody Kwan, senior strategist at Baird. “Markets are repricing growth for 2026 and beyond.”
Mega-Caps Back in Favor
Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta collectively added roughly $280 billion in market cap before noon. Investors shrugged off last month’s regulatory headlines, betting that lower long-term bond yields—10-year Treasurys dipped to 4.14%—will keep equity risk premia attractive.
What the Numbers Say
- S&P 500: +1.1% to 5,247
- Dow Jones: +0.8% to 42,190
- Nasdaq: +1.6% to 18,003
- VIX: down 6% to 12.4
Looking Ahead
Traders now turn to Friday’s non-farm payrolls report and next week’s slate of tech conference calls. “If payrolls remain above 200k and wage growth cools, the Fed’s dovish tilt stays intact,” notes Goldman Sachs economist David Parekh. “That’s the sweet spot for risk assets.”