Financial Markets Wall Street
Specialist James Denaro works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026.
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Modest moves for Wall Street overall masked some big swings underneath the surface, including for makers of weapons and other military equipment. The S&P 500 barely budged on Thursday and remained near its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.4%. Stocks of defense contractors rallied after President Donald Trump said he wants to increase the U.S. government's spending on defense sharply. Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and L3Harris Technologies helped lead the way and offset losses for Nvidia and other tech stocks. Treasury yields ticked higher following mixed data on the U.S. economy.
President Donald Trump caused some commotion for investors in U.S. defense contractors this …
