The Economic Times·2026-01-24 02:06Market Overview - All three Wall Street benchmarks experienced a rebound in the past two sessions after a sharp selloff triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats against European allies [1][12] - On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 285.30 points, or 0.58%, closing at 49,098.71, while the S&P 500 edged up by 2.26 points, or 0.03%, to 6,915.61 [1][12] - Despite the limited pullback, the S&P 500 was down by 0.36% for the week, the Dow lower by 0.53%, and the Nasdaq slipped by 0.06% [1][12] Investor Sentiment - Investors remain confident in the robustness of the American economy despite geopolitical-induced volatility [2][12] - Jason Blackwell, chief investment strategist at Focus Partners Wealth, expressed a positive outlook for corporate earnings and the economy, while acknowledging potential volatility due to upcoming midterm elections in 2026 [4][5] Corporate Earnings and Market Dynamics - Intel's shares dropped by 17% after the company forecasted quarterly revenue and profit below market estimates, indicating struggles to meet demand for server chips used in AI data centers [6][12] - The technology and semiconductor sectors are under scrutiny as many companies are trading at high valuations, with 2026 seen as a critical year for AI-related revenue growth [7][8][12] - Upcoming earnings reports from major companies, referred to as the "Magnificent Seven," including Apple, Tesla, and Microsoft, are anticipated to be pivotal for investor sentiment [9][12] Sector Performance - Of the S&P sub-sectors, seven ended positively, with materials leading with a 0.9% increase [10][12] - The energy index rose by 0.6% on Friday, marking its third consecutive record closing high, and has advanced by 10.1% so far in 2026, making it the top-performing sub-index for the week [10][12] - Trading volume on U.S. exchanges reached 17.34 billion shares on Friday, slightly above the 17.07 billion average over the last 20 trading days [10][12]