The S&P 500 was muted on Thursday as losses in tech heavyweights Microsoft and Nvidia countered earnings-led gains for Meta and Tesla, while investors parsed a slew of corporate earnings a day after the U.

If gains hold, this will be the Dow and S&P’s best January returns since 2019 and the best inauguration month return since January 2013, at the start of former President Barack Obama’s second term. The index now trades just 0.2% below its all-time high of 6,128, set last Friday.

Fed rate decision, stock market updates: Dow, Nasdaq, S&P 500 slip, Nvidia falls as Fed leaves rates unchanged

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq treaded water on Wednesday, as losses in tech heavyweights Apple and Nvidia limited broader gains and investor focus turned to the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision,

The S&P 500 advanced 0.92% to 6,067.70, with technology shares seeing the biggest gains among sectors. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) rose more than 2%, following a 4.9% loss on Monday. The Nasdaq Composite surged 2.03% to 19,733.59, following a 3.1% decline a day ago.

The Vanguard U.S. Momentum Factor ETF ( VFMO 0.09%) narrowly beat the S&P 500 in 2024. But it is already up 6.3% year to date as of Jan. 26, outperforming the S&P 500's 3.7% gain.

Thursday's coverage included more tech earnings, focus on Trump's latest on potential tariffs and more analysis around Monday's DeepSeek Dive.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 is the best performer but more risk-averse investors may prefer the more broadly diversified S&P 500.

That's music to the ears of Vistra, which cheered the market by acquiring more nuclear power capacity in 2024. Investors eagerly await updates on whether it will sign a deal with a cloud services company, although news of a fire at its California battery plant briefly sent shares sharply lower on Jan. 17.

The S&P 500 ( ^GSPC) gained 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI) rose nearly 0.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC) was up nearly 0.3%.

The Nasdaq & S&P 500 fell after Chinese startup DeepSeek shows AI can be built cheaply, sparking fears AI spending will stall. The blue-chip Dow rose.

CrowdStrike and Nvidia were among the sector's biggest gainers, rallying above 8% and 5%, respectively. Technology stocks sold off on Monday, leading to big declines in both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ...