US close: Stocks mostly higher after tariff speculation, tech rally

US stocks trimmed earlier gains by Monday's closing bell after Donald Trump quashed speculation that his proposed trade tariffs might be pared back, though tech shares still put in a strong performance to propel the Nasdaq higher.

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 rose for the second straight day, gaining 1.2% and 0.6% respectively, while the Dow slipped 0.1%.

Markets initially jumped on reports that Donald Trump's proposed tariffs might be less severe than initially feared, raising the outlook for international trade and corporate prospects worldwide.

The Washington Post cited people close to the matter who said that duties would be imposed on every country but only applied to imports critical to economic or national security – a major shift from US president-elect's initial campaign pledge.

However, in a post on Truth Social, Trump denied the "incorrect" rumours and labelled the speculation as "just another example of Fake News", causing stocks to come off their intraday highs.

Nevertheless, stocks in the tech sector still powered ahead, lifted by news that Microsoft is to plough $80bn in AI-enabled data centres during its 2025 financial year, marking a substantial increase from its $53bn capital expenditure in 2023.

A bumper set of fourth-quarter results from Taiwanese outfit Foxconn was also helping the mood in the chip sector.

Economic data in focus

Economic data is likely to steal the show this week as investors look ahead to December's ADP employment report on Wednesday and the all-important non-farm payrolls figure on Friday. This week will also see the release of the JOLTS job openings data, factory orders, weekly jobless claims and a closely watched consumer sentiment survey.

On the macro front on Monday, the seasonally-adjusted S&P Global US services PMI business activity index rose for the second month in a row in December, to a 33-month high of 56.8 from 56.1 in November.

The survey revealed the sharpest growth of output and new orders since March 2022, while employment increased for the first time in five months and business confidence hit an at 18-month high.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "Expectations of faster growth in the new year are based the anticipation of more business-friendly policies from the incoming Trump administration, including favourable tax and regulatory environments alongside protectionism via tariffs."

Market movers

Tech stocks were heavily in demand, with chip manufacturers leading the way, such as Nvidia, Broadcom and AMD. Microsoft also gained on its massive AI investment plans.

FuboTV shares rocketed 254% after it and Walt Disney announced plans to combine Disney’s Hulu+ Live TV with Fubo into a single virtual TV provider.

Telecoms giant T-Mobile was hit by a downgrade by Wells Fargo from 'overweight' to 'equal weight', while fashion conglomerate Capri Holdings was boosted by an upgrade at BMO from 'market perform' to 'outperform'.

Dow Jones - Risers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $427.85 1.06%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $39.74 0.89%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $91.46 0.72%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $245.00 0.67%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $99.75 0.59%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $583.44 0.56%
Boeing Co. (BA) $170.93 0.52%
3M Co. (MMM) $130.20 0.32%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $513.58 0.13%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $363.97 0.11%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $19.87 -3.36%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $160.60 -2.74%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $72.00 -1.79%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $39.61 -1.61%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $60.81 -1.52%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $258.59 -1.01%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $240.86 -1.00%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $292.08 -0.88%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $330.31 -0.71%
Visa Inc. (V) $313.12 -0.59%

S&P 500 - Risers

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $99.26 10.45%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $1.17 6.05%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $218.88 5.10%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $690.30 5.07%
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $22.85 4.72%
Nucor Corp. (NUE) $120.55 4.48%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $76.61 4.43%
Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $75.97 4.41%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $177.48 4.36%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $630.20 4.23%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Essex Prty Trust Inc. (ESS) $272.82 -4.03%
Boston Properties Inc. (BXP) $72.03 -3.90%
Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (LW) $63.06 -3.78%
General Mills Inc. (GIS) $61.50 -3.73%
United Domin Rlty Trust (UDR) $41.46 -3.69%
Sempra Energy (SRE) $84.50 -3.60%
Kimco Realty Corp. (KIM) $22.31 -3.58%
Equity Residential (EQR) $68.36 -3.54%
Mid Amer Apt Commun (MAA) $149.71 -3.41%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $19.87 -3.36%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $99.26 10.45%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $768.51 7.58%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.40 5.37%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $218.88 5.10%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $690.30 5.07%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $76.61 4.43%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $177.48 4.36%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $630.20 4.23%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $71.76 3.86%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $77.98 3.82%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $19.87 -3.36%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $65.34 -3.34%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $212.38 -3.07%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $58.22 -2.74%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $349.03 -2.60%
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $136.06 -2.58%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,799.07 -1.91%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $30.05 -1.83%
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $287.13 -1.56%
Fiserv Inc. (FI) $205.79 -1.41%