Morning in New York: robotics news sets the tone for trading

Daily review and forecast of events on the US stock market by Mikhail Denislavov, Deputy Director of Freedom Capital Markets Research.

The technology sector will be at the center of today's agenda for stock market players. The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2026 has opened in Las Vegas. The focus is on the speech by Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang , as well as presentations by AMD (AMD), Intel (INTC), and Qualcomm (QCOM). In the coming days, industry leaders will continue to discuss new solutions for PCs, the automotive industry, and robotics, focusing on the integration of "physical AI." This news is likely to increase investor interest in AI PCs and automation. In this regard, growth stocks will once again be in high demand among buyers.

This Tuesday, January 6, S&P Global will release its final assessment of the Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for December (consensus: 52.9 points, unchanged from the preliminary reading). If the indicator is in line with the forecast, it will demonstrate that the main driver of the US economy — domestic consumption of services — remains stable. This will be positively received by the market. An important factor for the market in the report will be the dynamics of the price component. Its correction will elicit a positive reaction.

Futures on US indices indicate that there will be no sharp jumps in quotes at the opening of the main session. We assess the balance of risks for the upcoming trading as neutral with moderate volatility. We expect the S&P 500 to fluctuate in the range of 6870–6940 points (from −0.4% to +0.6% relative to the previous session's closing level).

— Nvidia (NVDA), AMD (AMD), and Intel (INTC) are in the spotlight for investors in connection with the aforementioned CES exhibition. AMD presented its new Ryzen 9000 series of AI chips for PCs. Intel is preparing to launch its next-generation processors. The head of Nvidia gave a presentation on the stages of AI development and the prospects for this field. The announcement of the next cycle of consumer equipment updates (AI PCs) is supporting the prices of the entire semiconductor sector.

— Data showing a 29% drop in Tesla (TSLA) sales in the UK in December (against the backdrop of overall growth in the country's electric car market) is creating a negative backdrop for the issuer's shares. Increased competition from "traditional" car manufacturers and Chinese companies continues to put pressure on Tesla's market share in Europe.

—MicroStrategy (MSTR) disclosed an unrealized loss of $17.44 billion on its Bitcoin holdings for the fourth quarter. This was a result of cryptocurrency market volatility and the application of a new accounting method.

— Energy company Vistra (VST) has agreed to purchase Cogentrix Energy for approximately $4 billion. The deal aims to expand its portfolio of generating assets amid growing demand for electricity from data centers, which has boosted its shares by nearly 5% before the market opened.

— The upward revision of revenue forecasts for the third fiscal quarter has restored optimism among Microchip Technology (MCHP) investors. Against the backdrop of weak macroeconomic statistics for the manufacturing sector, the improved guidance is seen as a sign of stabilizing demand for microcontrollers. Against this backdrop, MCHP shares are up more than 3%.

— The announcement of a strategic partnership with OpenAI has been a growth driver for Zeta Global (ZETA). Investors expect that the integration of advanced language models into the marketing platform will significantly improve the effectiveness of the company's products, causing its shares to soar by approximately 10%.

Trading on January 5 on US stock exchanges ended with a solid gain. The Dow Jones rose 1.23% and set a new record high at the close. The S&P 500 added 0.64%, the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.77%, and the Russell 2000 rose 1.58%.

The performance of the "Magnificent Seven" was mixed. Active buying was recorded for Tesla (TSLA: +3.1%) shares, while Apple (AAPL: −1.38%) came under pressure.

The energy sector (XLE: +2.72%) became the undisputed leader, receiving a powerful boost amid prospects of US majors returning to Venezuela. The defensive utilities sector (XLU: −1.11%) became the outsider amid capital flows into cyclical assets.

The ISM Manufacturing PMI for December was only 47.9 points, compared to the consensus forecast of an increase from 48.2 in November to 48.7 points. This indicates a continuing decline in manufacturing, despite local improvements in employment and new orders.

Against this backdrop, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari noted that rates may not need to be lowered too much, but the market ignored this hawkish signal.

The US auto market continues to show stability. Despite regulatory uncertainty and high interest rates, new car sales increased by 2.4% year-on-year to 16.2 million in 2025. This signals continued demand for durable goods.

News of the change of power in Venezuela stimulated a 1 . 7% increase in WTI oil prices. General uncertainty and the weakening of the dollar caused another surge in demand for precious metals: gold rose in price by 2.8% and silver by 8%.

An additional topic of discussion was a Reuters survey, according to which investors name AI-driven inflation as the most underestimated risk of 2026. The market is beginning to factor into its forecasts the possibility that high demand for energy resources and equipment from data centers could slow down disinflationary processes.

— Prospects for a return to the Venezuelan market have been a growth driver for Chevron (CVX: +5.1%) shares — the only American major with active licenses in the country.

— Exxon Mobil (XOM: +2.2%) and ConocoPhillips (COP: +2.6%) shares were buoyed by expectations of a return of assets in Venezuela.

—Novo Nordisk (NVO: +5.2%) announced the launch of sales of the oral version of Wegovy for patients in the US who pay for treatment themselves, at $149 per month. The aggressive pricing policy is aimed at expanding the availability of the drug and maintaining market share in the fight against competitors, which is perceived positively.

—QXO (QXO: +18.2%) will receive $1.2 billion from a group of investors led by Apollo. The deal involves conversion into common shares at an 18% premium to the market and obliges the company to complete the acquisition by mid-July.

—Okta (OKTA: +4.9%) announced a $1 billion share buyback (about 6.5% of its market cap). Management explained the decision by expressing confidence in the long-term prospects of the business and the current undervaluation of the shares.

—Lucid Group (LCID: +4.8%) reported a 116% quarter-on-quarter increase in production volume for the fourth quarter, with deliveries up 31% quarter-on-quarter. The company managed to meet its adjusted annual target of producing 18,000 electric vehicles.

— A major American automaker has selected Mobileye Global (MBLY: +2.5%) solutions based on the EQ6H chip, with a potential supply of 9 million systems.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor