Dow Jones: Blue Chip Average Hits Record as Nasdaq Eyes 50-Day MA Breakout Today
Sector Performance: Consumer Discretionary Leads
Nine out of 11 sectors are in the green, led by Consumer Discretionary (+0.95%), Utilities (+0.69%), and Financials (+0.47%). Technology is in the middle of the pack with a 0.32% gain, while Communications is the worst performer with a 0.85% loss.
Dow Movers: Disney and AmEx Lead
The five best-performing Dow stocks are Walt Disney (+2.72%), American Express (+2.27%), Salesforce (+2.11%), Microsoft (+1.86%), and Home Depot (+1.51%). Bringing up the rear are Amgen (-1.33%), Coca-Cola (-1.32%), Merck (-0.90%), Chevron (-0.61%), and Nvidia (-0.44%).
Story Stocks: TSMC Hits Record, Coca-Cola Misses
Story stocks include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, which rose 3% after the company posted its highest monthly revenue ever. DuPont shares rose 2% after releasing better-than-expected earnings. Coca-Cola is down about 3% after reporting a fourth-quarter revenue miss and forecasting modest growth. CVS Health fell 2% after the firm maintained its 2026 revenue guidance at $400 billion. Analysts were looking for a revenue boost of $409.77 billion.
Retail Sales Disappoint for December
In economic news, consumer activity slowed sharply for the December holiday shopping season, with retail sales coming in flat on the month following a 0.6% increase in November. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected an increase of 0.4%. Excluding autos, sales also were unchanged, against the estimate for a 0.3% increase.