It was a strong start to the year.
In the first week or so of trading, you generally start to see funds put on 'core' positions and we saw some of that today, though trading ws generally dominated by a surge in energy stocks on the Venezuela regime change.
Closing changes:
- S&P 500 +0.6%
- Nasdaq +0.7%
- DJIA +1.2%
- Russell 2000 +1.6%
- Toronto TSX Comp +1.1%
The Russell was the big winner but note that the rally today and Friday simply recouped the selling in the final week of 2025.
The lone notable data today was the from the ISM index and it showed that manufacturing sentiment fell to the worst since November 2024 and that price pressures are rising. That's a poor combination but the report was largely ignored by the market. Instead, it's all about flows with some of the Mag7 names strengthening but others like Apple (-1.4%) falling.
Top performers:
Valero (VLO): +9.05%
Schlumberger (SLB): +8.91%
Halliburton (HAL): +8.06%
Coinbase Global (COIN): +8.03%
Carvana (CVNA): +7.60%
Phillips 66 (PSX): +7.02%
Centene Corporation (CNC): +7.00%
Robinhood Markets (HOOD): +6.78%
Leidos (LDOS): +6.73%
Interactive Brokers (IBKR): +6.39%
It's interesting to see the 'trading trade' so strong once again, with Robinhood and IBKR so strong. There is a secular movement towards more trading and 24-hour trading that benefits both.
Laggards:
Jabil (JBL): −6.51%
Comcast (CMCSA): −4.38%
AbbVie (ABBV): −4.06%
Campbell Soup (CPB): −3.77%
Eli Lilly (LLY): −3.67%
Omnicom Group (OMC): −3.65%
Diamondback Energy (FANG): −3.52%
APA Corporation (APA): −3.45%
Devon Energy (DVN): −3.39%
Domino’s (DPZ): −3.26%
Lilly was a big winner last year but there was some clear profit taking today. Comcast has been a dog and continues to struggle.
