It was set to be a bright start to the new year for U.S. stocks, with the major indexes pointing to gains after a slide in the final session of 2025. Precious metals continued to be volatile as silver prices rose again.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 97 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures were gaining 0.5% and Nasdaq 100 futures were rising 0.9%.
Tech stocks may be getting a boost from sentiment in China after Baidu’s artificial-intelligence chip unit filed for a Hong Kong IPO. The Hang Seng Tech Index was up 4% Friday.
If the early U.S. moves hold they will break four consecutive trading sessions of losses which took the gloss off impressive gains for last year. But the apparent lack of a ‘Santa Claus rally’ and the first-day move might not be much of a guide for how 2026 will play out.
“We shouldn’t extrapolate too far, as the first trading day has been an incredibly poor guide in recent times to how the rest of the year plays out,” said Deutsche Bank analyst Henry Allen. “Indeed, 2023-25 each started with a negative session for the S&P 500, before the index then saw a double-digit annual gain. By contrast, 2022 saw an all-time high on the first day, before the index fell into a bear market and its worst year since 2008.”
Meanwhile, the price of silver was up 5% early on Friday and gold was gaining 1.4%. Exchange operator CME increased margin requirements twice last week amid volatile trading, after 2025 became the best year for gold and silver since 1979.
“The moves… were driven by various factors, including lower policy rates from central banks, geopolitical uncertainty, concern about future inflation (particularly given high public debt burdens), and central banks diversifying their own reserves,” wrote Deutsche’s Allen.
Attention could be on furniture stocks after President Donald Trump delayed planned tariff increases on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities by a year in a New Year’s Eve announcement. The original tariff threat in August sent shares tumbling in companies that import furniture, including Restoration Hardware parent company RH and Wayfair.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note stood at 4.164% early on Friday, ticking down from the previous session.