Market Pulse: Monday, January 5, 2026

Monday’s session leaned constructive and fairly broad. The major indexes advanced together, and the internals confirmed it was not a single-sector squeeze.

The S&P 500 gained 0.64%, the Dow rose 1.23%, the Nasdaq added 0.69%, and the Russell led again (Russell 2000 +1.58%). Under the surface, participation improved to 340 advancers vs 161 decliners (a 2.11 A/D ratio) with advancing volume at 55.1%. The VIX ended at 14.90, still consistent with a low-volatility backdrop.

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Market Breadth: Better Participation, Still Not a Blow-Off

Metric	Today (Jan 5)	Friday (Jan 2)
Advance/Decline Ratio	2.11	1.87
Advances	340	327
Declines	161	175
Advancing Volume	55.1%	62.7%
Stocks Near 52-Week Highs	33	24
Stocks Near 52-Week Lows	8	7
% Above 20-Day MA	59.8%	55.3%
% Above 50-Day MA	60.8%	56.7%
% Above 200-Day MA	60.6%	58.7%

What the Numbers Say

• The A/D ratio holding above 2.0 is a solid “breadth confirmation” print, especially following Friday’s rebound.
• Advancing volume was positive but not extreme, the market participated, but it was not a one-sided chase.
• The moving-average participation improved across short, intermediate, and long-term gauges, which fits a tape that is rebuilding trend support after the year-end wobble.

Explore the full dashboard: Market breadth.

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Market Performance: Dow Strength, Small Caps Keep Participating

Index	Close	Change	% Change
S&P 500	6,902.05	+43.58	+0.64%
Dow Jones	48,977.18	+594.79	+1.23%
Nasdaq	23,395.82	+160.19	+0.69%
Russell 2000	2,547.92	+39.70	+1.58%

A quick three-session context:

• Dec 31: S&P 500 -0.74%, Dow -0.63%, Nasdaq -0.76%, Russell -0.75%
• Jan 2: S&P 500 +0.19%, Dow +0.66%, Nasdaq -0.03%, Russell +1.06%
• Jan 5: S&P 500 +0.64%, Dow +1.23%, Nasdaq +0.69%, Russell +1.58%

With the Dow and Russell leading, the session looked more “reflationary/cyclical tilt” than a narrow growth-only bounce.

Explore the full dashboard: Market snapshot.

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Sector View: Energy and Financials Led, Utilities Lagged

Rotation tilted cyclical at the top, with defensives at the bottom.

• Leaders: Energy (XLE +2.72%), Financials (XLF +2.18%), Consumer Discretionary (XLY +1.65%), Industrials (XLI +1.38%), Materials (XLB +1.25%)
• Laggards: Utilities (XLU -1.11%), Consumer Staples (XLP -0.44%), Health Care (XLV -0.30%), Real Estate (XLRE +0.06%), Technology (XLK +0.45%)

When energy and financials lead while utilities fades, it often reflects improving risk appetite, as long as breadth stays firm.

Explore the full dashboard: Sector performance.

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Volatility: Still Low, but Up From Friday

Metric	Today (Jan 5)	Friday (Jan 2)
VIX Level	14.90	14.51

A quick three-session context:

• Dec 31: 14.95
• Jan 2: 14.51
• Jan 5: 14.90

Index ETF implied volatility stayed mostly in a low regime:

• SPY IV: 9.21% (Low)
• QQQ IV: 13.59% (Low)
• IWM IV: 15.19% (Normal)
• DIA IV: 11.50% (Low)

The takeaway is simple: risk appetite improved, but volatility did not collapse, it stayed steady in a calm regime.

Explore the full dashboard: Volatility.

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Headlines Moving Markets

A few headlines that fit Monday’s tape and leadership:

• What’s next for big bank stocks after a banner 2025? (CNBC) Financials led the day, and positioning narratives can matter early in the year.
• What may be driving Eli Lilly shares lower, plus oil and financial stocks rally (CNBC) The day’s sector split, cyclicals up and some defensives soft, showed up in the headline flow.
• Fed’s Kashkari says AI is causing a hiring slowdown in big companies (CNBC) Macro labor narratives can quickly influence rate expectations and leadership.
• Why investors saw a bull case despite extraordinary Venezuela action (CNBC) The muted index reaction is consistent with a low-volatility regime where shocks need follow-through to change positioning.

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Technical Snapshot (SPY)

SPY remains above key trend markers:

• 20-day SMA: 682.74
• 50-day SMA: 677.10
• 200-day SMA: 624.14

Near-term pivot structure (based on the prior session reference levels, Jan 2):

• Resistance: 686.84 (R1), then 690.35 (R2)
• Pivot: 683.36
• Support: 679.85 (S1), then 676.37 (S2)

In a low-volatility tape, these levels tend to matter most when breadth and index direction start to diverge.

Explore the full dashboard: Support & Resistance levels.

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What to Watch Next

A short checklist for the next session:

• Breadth follow-through: Can A/D stay above 1.0 with advancing volume holding over 50%?
• Cyclical leadership: Do financials and energy keep leading, or does leadership rotate back toward defensives?
• Small-cap confirmation: Does the Russell keep participating on up days?
• Volatility trend: Does VIX drift back toward the mid-teens, or stay pinned near 15 as positioning resets?

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Bottom Line

Jan 5 looked like a healthy, broad up day: all major benchmarks advanced, participation improved, and leadership tilted cyclical.

The near-term tell is whether breadth stays firm on the next up day and whether leadership remains diversified. If participation narrows again while volatility stays sticky, the market can still grind higher, but the risk of choppy rotation rises.

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Market Pulse provides daily analysis of S&P 500 market breadth, sector rotation, and volatility signals to help investors understand what’s happening beneath the surface. Data sourced from our real-time market breadth collectors. For personalized planning, explore our retirement calculators, investment tools, and FIRE planning resources.