NEW YORK, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed on Thursday as investors balanced a significant rally in defense shares against looming regulatory decisions.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 270.03 points, or 0.55 percent, to 49,266.11. The S&P 500 added 0.53 points, or 0.01 percent, to 6,921.46. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 104.26 points, or 0.44 percent, to 23,480.02.
Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with energy and consumer staples leading the gainers by rising 3.2 percent and 2.26 percent, respectively. Technology and health led the laggards by losing 1.54 percent and 0.91 percent, respectively.
The defense sector saw a sharp recovery following U.S. President Donald Trump's Wednesday proposal of a 1.5 trillion U.S. dollar military budget for fiscal year 2027. The announcement spurred a rebound in major contractors, with Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics reclaiming key market positions. This follows a volatile Tuesday session where the sector faced pressure over administration demands to prioritize production timelines over shareholder dividends and buybacks.
Market attention is also fixed on the U.S. Supreme Court, which may rule as early as Friday on the legality of the administration's reciprocal tariffs. While these trade measures previously sparked concerns over rising corporate costs, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday reaffirmed his support for the tariff policy.
Speaking at the Economic Club of Minnesota, Bessent also addressed monetary policy, urging the Federal Reserve to accelerate interest rate reductions to stimulate national economic growth. "Interest rate cuts will have a tangible impact ... this is the only gap to achieving stronger economic growth," Bessent said, adding that the Federal Reserve should "no longer delay."
Bessent further noted that the announcement of the next Federal Reserve chair remains on track for later this month. Market participants continue to monitor these developments closely as the flow of economic data returns to its regular pace.
In corporate news, Alphabet closed up 1.1 percent to an all-time high, a day after the Google parent surpassed Apple for the second-highest market capitalization behind Nvidia, at around 3.9 trillion dollars. Apple ended 0.5 percent lower.
