Weekly Market Bullets

for the week ending 1/9/2026

• US Equity Markets hit all-time highs last week amid healthy economic data that led investors to seek more economically sensitive areas of the market. The S&P 500 rose 1.6% for the week and is now up 1.8% for the year. The Nasdaq increased 1.9% for the week despite some declines in AI-related areas to bring its gains for the year to 1.9%, while the Russell 2000 (small cap stocks) surged 4.6% for the week and is now up 5.7% for the year.

• Global Equity Markets increased last week despite rising geopolitical tensions with Venezuela and rhetoric about Greenland. Developed Markets were up 1.3% for the week and are now up 1.9% for the year. Emerging Markets increased 1.6% for the week to bring their gains for the year to 3.4%.

• US Economic Data Show a resilient consumer backdrop. Nonfarm Payrolls for December totaled 50K, slightly below consensus, while the Unemployment Rate dropped to 4.4% from 4.6% in November, better than expected. Average annual wage gains increased 3.8% in December from a year ago, up from 3.6% in November and better than forecasts.

• Rising corporate bond issuance could put upward pressure on interest rates. Rising debt issuance, particularly tied to firms building out AI infrastructure, is forecast by Wall Street to be around $1.9 trillion in 2026. For context, recent years have seen an average of around $1.3 trillion issued, so this would represent an almost 50% increase vs. historical norms. If these projections comes to fruition, it raises the question of where the incremental buyer of such debt will come from. Irrespective, the significant increase in issuance is likely to push interest rates higher.

Market Data

for the week ending 1/9/2026