📈 TL;DR — What Moved, What Didn’t
Stocks cooled off Wednesday after a hot start to 2026. The S&P 500 slipped on yesterday, its first down day in four, while the Dow fell off Tuesday’s record high. Tech held up better, with the Nasdaq still green, as investors kept leaning into the AI spending story.
Small caps are still leading the week, but homebuilder stocks took a hit after President Trump announced limits on big investors buying single-family homes. Softer labor signals (JOLTS job openings and ADP payrolls) kept rates jumpy ahead of Friday’s jobs report.
Quick Levels → Week-to-date change
S&P 500: 6,920.92 | ↑0.91% Nasdaq 100: 25,653.90 | ↑1.78% Dow: 48,996.09 | ↑1.27% Russell 2000: 2,575.42 | ↑2.68% | Gold/oz: $4,421 | ↑2.08% Silver/oz: $75.32 | ↑3.43% Bitcoin (BTC): $90,242 | ↓1.36% DXY (US Dollar Index): 98.73 | ↑0.30% |
🚀 Top Movers This Week
Critical Metals Corp (CRML) ↑69.33% — Greenland pilot-plant construction approval boosted Tanbreez rare-earth project optimism, fueling a surge.
SanDisk (SNDK) ↑28.46% — Nvidia’s CES comments reignited AI storage demand, sending memory stocks sharply higher.
Oklo (OKLO) ↑25.45% — Signed a DOE agreement for a radioisotope pilot facility, fueling “nuclear renaissance” hopes.
AeroVironment (AVAV) ↑24.31% — Defense jitters and analyst target hikes pushed the drone-maker higher amid geopolitical headlines.
First Solar (FSLR) ↓12.11% — Jefferies downgrade to “Hold” sparked a sharp selloff; policy and booking visibility worries lingered.