Newscasts - Wall Street ends flat ahead of long weekend; S&P 500 down for week

The J. M. Smucker

16/01/2026 23:36

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Source: 'Reuters - Business videos'

Description: U.S. stocks ended nearly flat on Friday in a choppy session ahead of the long weekend, although all three major indexes posted losses for the week as fourth-quarter earnings season kicked off. Alex Cohen has more.

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Video Transcript:

Wall Street stocks closed fractionally lower Friday with the Dow slipping the most, down about 0.2%, while the S&P and NASDAQ ended essentially flat. The three major indexes posted losses for the week as fourth‑quarter earnings season kicked off. Big US banks posted mostly solid results, though shares of banks and other financial institutions have been pressured by worries over President Donald Trump's proposed one‑year cap on credit card interest rates at 10%. Shares of chipmakers rose Friday, with an index of semiconductors extending gains from Thursday. Leigh Bennett, Chief Investment Strategist with Concurrent Asset Management, says she thinks the technology sector will keep pushing stocks higher.

I think the big focus has been really on AI and how that is driving technology, but it's so much broader than that. You have robotics, blockchain. There are so many new, innovative ways to do business that's driving operating earnings and operating margins, and I think that is such a powerful force that is really impacting the broader economy. Especially if you look at operating margins, they're expected to expand by one of the largest margins that we've seen in the last 10 years.

The earnings season ramps up next week with reports from heavyweights including Netflix, Johnson & Johnson, and Intel. Stocks on the move Friday included Smucker, which fell more than 2.5%, and Kraft Heinz, which dropped nearly 3% after Morgan Stanley cut its ratings on the food companies. It expects them to have to offer more promotions as they face increasing competition from private‑label competitors. The stock market is closed on Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.