The Standard and Poors 500 index (SPX) closed today at 6940, down 4.5 points for a loss of 0.06%. SPX opened the week at 6944, essentially unchanged for the week. Trading volume spiked today after running flat since 12/22.

VIX, the volatility index for the S&P 500 options, closed today at 15.9% after opening the week at 16.1%. VIX spiked up to 18% intraday on Wednesday.

I monitor the movement of high beta stocks by tracking the ETF containing the top 100 S&P 500 stocks ranked by beta, SPHB. SPHB closed at 122.8 today, down less than a point or -0.5%. SPHB opened the week at 122.0, setting up a weekly decline of 0.7%. 

The NASDAQ Composite index closed today at 23,515, down 15 points or -0.06%. NASDAQ opened the week at 23,517, setting up a weekly loss of 0.3%. NASDAQ’s trading volume has been quite low since mid-December but finally ran above the 50 dma all week. 

The overall market has traded higher since New Year’s and the S&P 500 hit a new all-time high on Monday and Tuesday but collapsed on Wednesday. SPX recovered somewhat on Thursday and Friday but fell short of the earlier highs.
The NASDAQ Composite also traded higher in this new year and hit a high on Monday that was well below its all-time high from 10/29/25. Similar to the S&P 500 index, NASDAQ tried to recover on Thursday and Friday but fell short.
Trading volume was mixed with SPX peaking today and NASDAQ running slightly above its 50 dma all week. The failed recoveries probably account for VIX declining but remaining around 16%. 

Monday will be a trading holiday, Martin Luther King day. The latest measure of GDP growth surprised analysts at 4.3% for the third quarter. The next estimate of Q3 GDP will issue on Thursday. Friday will bring the PCE Price Index, a commonly watched measure of inflation.

NFLX, JNJ, INTC, GE, and IBKR all announce earnings next week.

The Santa Claus rally (the last five trading days in December plus the first two trading days in January), failed this year with a decline of 0.03% on the S&P 500. The first five days of trading in January was positive at +0.6%. A positive first five days of January has an 83% correlation over the past 48 years with a positive market for the year. Now we wait on the January barometer (the entire month's trading results). 

Happy New Year!