US stocks hit closing record highs; Walmart, tech climb
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A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Jan 12, 2026.
PHOTO: AFP
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NEW YORK - The S&P 500 and Dow registered record closing highs on Jan 12, with shares of technology companies and retailer Walmart gaining and as investors mostly brushed aside concerns about the US Justice Department’s criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell
Shares of Walmart climbed 3 per cent, boosting to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, where the retail giant moved its stock listing last month from the NYSE. Consumer staples rose 1.4 per cent and led sector gainers, while technology also increased.
Walmart is set to join the Nasdaq-100 index on Jan 20, a shift that could draw in billions of dollars from passive index funds.
Stocks had opened lower on the news surrounding Mr Powell. The Justice Department’s threat of indictment, ostensibly focused on comments Mr Powell made to Congress about a building renovation project, ramped up concerns about the Fed’s independence.
Mr Powell called the move a “pretext” to gain more influence over interest rates that President Donald Trump has pressed to cut sharply since he took office in January 2025.
“The news that Powell is being investigated by the Justice Department was basically telegraphed by Trump, and so I think the market is taking it in stride for now,” said Mr Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
“The fact that you had former Fed governors come out in support of Powell ... is also comforting to markets,” he said.
Investors also are looking ahead to the fourth-quarter U.S. earnings season, Mr Cardillo said.
Analysts see the technology sector leading S&P 500 earnings growth for the quarter, with a 26.5 per cent year-over-year gain, according to LSEG data. They see overall S&P 500 companies’ earnings for the quarter up 8.8 per cent from a year ago.
The reporting period unofficially begins on Jan 13 with results from JPMorgan Chase and other big banks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 86.13 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 49,590.20, the S&P 500 gained 10.99 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 6,977.27 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 62.56 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 23,733.90.
Shares of lenders and credit card firms came under pressure after Mr Trump called for a one-year cap on credit card interest rates at 10 per cent starting on Jan 20.
Financials were down 0.8 per cent on the day and led sector decliners in the S&P 500.
Citigroup tumbled 3 per cent, while credit-card firm American Express fell 4.3 per cent. Consumer finance firms also dropped, including Capital One, which ended down 6.4 per cent.
Buy-now, pay-later firm Affirm Holdings fell 6.6 per cent. Investors also await Jan 13’s US consumer price index report, which could influence the outlook for Fed rate cuts. Markets for now are betting on at least two more quarter-point cuts before year-end, according to LSEG data.
Volume on US exchanges was 17.29 billion shares, compared with the 16.40 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.68-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 725 new highs and 48 new lows on the NYSE.
On the Nasdaq, 2,613 stocks rose and 2,144 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.22-to-1 ratio. REUTERS
