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Market Overview
For the week of Jan 9, U.S. equities kicked off 2026 on a strong note, brushing aside geopolitical headlines and policy noise. Most major indices pushed to fresh all-time highs, while market leadership broadened beyond mega-cap growth stocks.
Small-cap and value stocks led the advance, a healthy sign for overall market breadth.
Major Indices – Weekly Performance
For the week ending 9 January 2026:
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Russell 2000 (RUT): +4.62% (best performer)
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S&P 500 (SPX): +1.57%
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Equal-weighted S&P 500: Outperformed the market-cap-weighted index
This rotation suggests investors are becoming more confident in the broader economy rather than relying solely on large-cap tech leadership. Refer to the major indexes’ weekly performance below.
๐บ๐ธ U.S. Stocks – Weekly Wrap
Key Highlights
1. Homebuilders surge on mortgage support news
U.S. homebuilders and related stocks such as Lennar (LEN) and Toll Brothers (TOL) rallied after former President Trump announced plans to instruct government-controlled mortgage agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase USD 200 billion of mortgage bonds. The move aims to lower mortgage rates, and credit spreads in agency MBS tightened sharply following the announcement.
2. Jobs data soft, but still stable
December nonfarm payrolls increased by 50k, below expectations, with October and November revised lower by a combined 76k. Despite this, the unemployment rate edged down to 4.4%, pointing to normalization rather than labor market stress.
3. Manufacturing weak, services hold up
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ISM Manufacturing PMI: 47.9 (10th straight month of contraction)
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ISM Services PMI: Rose to the highest level of the year, supported by stronger new orders and employment
4. Rate cut expectations remain measured
Softer job growth and easing wage pressures support expectations for one to two rate cuts in 2026, rather than aggressive easing. Upcoming inflation data will be key.
5. Earnings season begins
The Q4 earnings season kicks off next week, with JPMorgan(JPM) reporting first on Monday.
S&P 500 Sectors in Focus
10 out of 11 S&P 500 sectors closed higher for the week.
Top performers:
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Consumer Discretionary (XLY)
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Materials (XLB)
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Industrials (XLI)
Laggard:
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Utilities (XLU)
Homebuilders rebounded after Trump's announcement(refer to above), while aerospace and defense stocks remained volatile amid mixed signals on capital returns versus defense spending. Refer to the SPX sector ETF weekly performance below.
Technical Snapshot – Major U.S. Indices
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S&P 500 (SPX): New all-time high, uptrend intact
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Dow Jones (DJI): New all-time high
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Nasdaq Composite: Testing the upper end of a six-week consolidation range
๐ Click below for weekly charts:
๐จ๐ณ China / ๐ญ๐ฐ Hong Kong Markets
Mainland China equities advanced, driven mainly by AI-related trades.
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Shanghai Composite (SSE): +3.82%
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CSI 300: +2.79%
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Hang Seng Index (HSI): -0.41%
Onshore market turnover rose to about CNY 2.8 trillion (~USD 400.6 billion), while margin financing balances hovered near record levels, according to Bloomberg.
Key China / HK Takeaways
1. Inflation shows tentative improvement
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CPI: +0.8% YoY in December (in line with expectations)
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PPI: -1.9%, the 39th straight month of decline, but the smallest drop in over a year
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Core CPI: +1.2% for the third consecutive month
2. Deflation remains a key concern
China recorded 0% inflation for the full year, the lowest since 2009 and well below the official ~2% target. This reinforces expectations that the PBoC will maintain an easing bias in 2026. Refer to below Hang Seng Index constituents’ weekly performance table.
๐ Click below for charts:
๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore Market – Weekly Wrap
The Straits Times Index (STI) extended its strong uptrend, rising 1.9% to a new all-time high.
Market leaders:
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CDL +10.6%
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JMH +10.5%
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Hongkong Land +9.7%
Banks:
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DBS +2.1%
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UOB +2.1%
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OCBC -0.25% (profit-taking after hitting an intra-week high of 20.25)
Refer to below STI’ weekly performance table.
๐ Click below for the STI weekly chart:
Source: Some content and data are excerpted from publicly available market reports. Please comment to claim copyright ownership of any material, and it will be removed if necessary.
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