Your Evening Briefing

January 07, 2026

S&P 500 closes lower after notching new intraday high

The S&P 500 closed lower after notching a new intraday record high. The Nasdaq 100 managed to eke out a small gain, while the Russell 2000 fell.

Investors reviewed mixed employment data, in which the December ADP employment report showed private payrolls rising but the November JOLTS showed jobs openings falling. Friday’s December jobs report could offer more insight into the Fed’s path to easing in 2026.

Stocks that moved higher:

Rare earth stocks MP Materials, Critical Metals, and United States Antimony Corp. rose as the White House confirmed the US is looking at options for acquiring Greenland, including use of military force.
GameStop rose after announcing a long-term performance award for CEO Ryan Cohen.
Compass jumped after a key antitrust waiting period expired for their acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate.
Intel surged to a new 52-week high. While there’s no clear reason to point to for its outperformance, potential catalysts include CES announcements or a deal announcement that Mobileye, the autonomous driving company in which Intel holds a significant stake, will buy humanoid robot maker Mentee for $900 million.
Strategy ticked up after MSCI dropped plans to exclude digital asset firms from its indexes.

Stocks that moved lower:

Homebuilders PulteGroup, Toll Brothers, DR Horton, and Lennar tumbled after President Trump said he wanted to ban institutional investors from buying single-family homes. Blackstone and Invitation Homes, two of the largest owners of private homes in country, and digital real estate company Opendoor Technologies also fell.
In a Truth Social post, President Trump said he won't permit defense companies to issue dividends or stock buybacks, sending Northrop Grumman, L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Huntington Ingalls Industries, and RTX lower.
Imax dipped despite reporting record ticket revenue in 2025 powered by “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”
AST SpaceMobile sank after being cut to "Underperform" at Scotiabank.
First Solar fell after Jefferies downgraded the stock to hold from buy and cut its price target to $260 from $269.
Deckers Outdoor dropped after Piper Sandler cut the stock to "Underweight" and lowered its price target to $85 from $100.
Paramount Skydance dipped as the board of Warner Bros. Discovery unanimously rejected Paramount’s offer again.

Quantum computing reaches its Infleqtion point

Infleqtion filed its S-4, paving the way for it to go public via a SPAC merger with Churchill Capital Corp X this quarter. Read more.

Jollibee is muscling in on McDonald’s and Starbucks’ territory — starting with a US listing

The Philippine food group has turned into a global contender with its fried chicken, coffee deals, and overseas store growth.

Read more.

Today, D-Wave Quantum announced that it has struck a deal to purchase Quantum Circuits for $550 million, as the annealing-centric quantum computing company continues its push to bolster its gate-model capabilities. Read more.

Lego taps “Star Wars” for the launch of its new high-tech Smart Brick
The toy giant is betting that even if people don’t immediately want a computerized plastic block, they’ll still want “Star Wars” Legos that go “pew pew.”
Stack Overflow’s forum is dead thanks to AI, but the company’s still kicking... thanks to AI
The platform is raking in millions of dollars in revenue, with AI an ironic new source of revenue.
Managing futures risk: Understanding how much you stand to make or lose
The leverage futures offer can cut both ways.
Doge is pumping, but doge ETFs are flopping
“It’s the people’s coin, built on memes, community energy, and viral moments. The fact that it can pump 21% in a week without a single dollar of ETF inflows shows the community still has pricing power independent of Wall Street.”
Ethereum’s staking exit queue has no wait time, while the entrance line is over 25 days
The imbalance is one sign of confidence among ethereum holders as ETFs and treasury firms incorporate staking.

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