NEW YORK, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed on Monday, driven by a rally in semiconductor stocks, as market participants looked ahead to crucial labor market reports later this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 25.57 points, or 0.06 percent, to 42,706.56. The S&P 500 added 32.91 points, or 0.55 percent, to 5,975.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 243.30 points, or 1.24 percent, to 19,864.98.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with real estate and utilities leading the laggards by dropping 1.40 percent and 1.09 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, communication services and technology led the gainers by going up 2.13 percent and 1.44 percent, respectively.
Chipmakers surged after Foxconn reported record revenue for the fourth quarter, boosting optimism in the sector. Nvidia climbed 3.43 percent, ahead of a speech by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the annual CES convention in Las Vegas after trading ends for the day. Broadcom added 1.66 percent, while Micron Technology soared 10.45 percent. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF rose 3.32 percent, underscoring broad strength in the industry.
"The market is, I think, being pretty optimistic about tech right now, looking for earnings growth of 20 percent this year versus 12.8 percent for the market ... but valuations do appear restrictive," CFRA Research chief investment strategist Sam Stovall said. "The group will probably not rise based on P/E multiples, but will have to rise based on organic earnings growth."
In other developments, political intrigue briefly rippled through the market as a report by The Washington Post suggested U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's team is considering selective tariffs on critical imports rather than blanket measures. Trump dismissed the report later as "Fake News" on Truth Social, calling the claims "wrong" and misleading.
The yields on 10-year U.S. Treasury note edged higher ahead of the expected data, hovering near 4.6 percent, reflecting cautious sentiment as traders assess the economic outlook.
Meanwhile, market focus is shifting to economic data releases, with the December jobs report due Friday. This report will be among the final significant inputs for the Federal Reserve before its meeting later this month. In the interim, investors are also eyeing the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) on Tuesday and the ADP Employment Survey on Wednesday. ■
