<figure id="attachment_3103812" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3103812" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-3103812 size-full" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/76ecbdaf-12444443_1600x1000_1.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3103812" class="wp-caption-text">The S&amp;P 500 gained 8.67 points, or 0.12%, to 6,953.14 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 20.74 points, or 0.09%, to 23,550.76. (EPA Images pic)</figcaption></figure>
NEW YORK: US stocks were barely higher yesterday ahead of the long weekend, although the S&amp;P 500 looked set to post a weekly decline as fourth-quarter earnings season kicked off.
Shares of some chipmakers rose, with an index of semiconductors up 1.1%, extending gains from Thursday.
Big US banks posted mostly strong results this week at the start of the reporting period, although shares of banks and other financial institutions have been pressured by worries over US President Donald Trump&#8217;s proposed one-year cap on credit card interest rates at 10%.
Financials were up 0.6% on Friday but were set for their worst week since October.
&#8220;I would discount the impact of bank earnings for the overall market. In my mind, the most important thing is the growth of companies and the big technology companies.
“That is going to set the trend in investors&#8217; minds, and they start later in the month,&#8221; said Bruce Zaro, managing director at Granite Wealth Management in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Investors also digested news that Trump praised economic adviser Kevin Hassett at a White House event and said he may want to keep him in his current role, lowering market bets that Hassett would succeed Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
Earlier this week, Powell said US prosecutors had threatened to indict him.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 26.46 points, or 0.05%, to 49,468.90, the S&amp;P 500 gained 8.67 points, or 0.12%, to 6,953.14 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 20.74 points, or 0.09%, to 23,550.76.
Investors were also cautious of making big bets ahead of the long weekend, with the stock market shut on Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr holiday.
While stocks have largely traded in a relatively tight range in recent sessions, some options market participants expect more choppy price action in the coming days following Friday&#8217;s monthly options expiration.
&#8220;Historically, the middle part of January tends to be pretty choppy,&#8221; Zaro said.
&#8220;Once we work our way through that, then we are likely to see a little bit better performance out to the end of the month.
“Hopefully, we&#8217;ll find the month positive, which will bear significance for good performance for the year,&#8221; Zaro said.
The week also saw money shifting out of some heavyweight tech names into more undervalued areas.
The earnings season ramps up next week with reports from heavyweights including Netflix, Johnson &amp; Johnson and Intel.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.14-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 344 new highs and 53 new lows on the NYSE.
On the Nasdaq, 2,263 stocks rose and 2,398 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.06-to-1 ratio.

MatchPoint Times

Wall Street edges higher ahead of long weekend

Investors were also cautious about making big bets, with the stock market shut on Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr holiday.

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