NEW YORK, Jan 25, (V7N) – Six out of the 11 S&P 500 industry sectors ended the day in positive territory, with Communication Services leading the gains, up 1.09%, followed closely by Utilities, which rose 1.07%. The biggest contributor to the utilities sector’s performance was NextEra Energy Inc (NEE.N), which surged 5.2%, making it the top performer in the S&P 500.

The S&P 500 had reached a record closing high on Thursday for the first time since early December, boosted by President Trump’s calls for lower taxes, oil prices, and interest rates during his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Earlier in the week, technology stocks had fueled the market rally, but on Friday, the tech sector was the weakest performer.

Texas Instruments dropped 7.2% due to a disappointing first-quarter profit forecast, impacted by inventory challenges in the automotive and industrial markets. Other major tech stocks also struggled, with Nvidia falling 3.1%, Microsoft down 0.6%, and Tesla losing 1.4%.

In other sectors, American Express reported a 12% increase in fourth-quarter profits, but its stock fell 1.4%, weighing on the Dow Jones. Similarly, Boeing dropped 1.4% after warning of a projected $4 billion loss for the fourth quarter ahead of its earnings report next week. On the other hand, Verizon gained 0.9% following stronger-than-expected subscriber growth.

Market breadth remained positive, with advancing stocks outpacing decliners by a ratio of 1.45-to-1 on the NYSE, where there were 249 new 52-week highs and 32 new lows. On the Nasdaq, 2,242 stocks rose, while 2,140 declined, yielding a ratio of 1.05-to-1. The Nasdaq saw 79 new highs and 64 new lows, while the S&P 500 recorded 20 new highs and two new lows.

Trading volume on U.S. exchanges was 14.02 billion shares, slightly below the 20-session average of 14.90 billion shares.

END/BUS/RH/