US stocks: Wall Street indexes finish higher with tech, Walmart

[NEW YORK] The S&P 500 and Dow registered record closing highs on Monday, with shares of technology companies and retailer Walmart gaining and as investors mostly brushed aside concerns about the US Justice Department’s criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Technology was among the day’s biggest sector gainers. Shares of Walmart jumped, giving a boost to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, where the retail giant moved its stock listing last month from the NYSE.

Walmart is set to join the Nasdaq-100 index on Jan 20, a shift that could draw in billions of dollars from passive index funds.

Stocks had opened lower on the news surrounding Powell. The Justice Department’s threat of indictment, ostensibly focused on comments Powell made to Congress about a building renovation project, ramped up concerns about the Fed’s independence.

Powell called the move a “pretext” to gain more influence over interest rates that President Donald Trump has pressed to cut sharply since he took office in January 2025.

“The news that Powell is being investigated by the Justice Department was basically telegraphed by Trump many times and so I think the market is taking it in stride,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.

Investors also are looking ahead to the fourth-quarter US earnings season, he said, which unofficially begins on Tuesday with results from JPMorgan Chase and other big banks.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 10.35 points, or 0.15 per cent, to end at 6,977.29 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 62.56 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 23,733.90. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 80.50 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 49,584.57.

Shares of lenders and credit card firms came under pressure after Trump called for a one-year cap on credit card interest rates at 10% starting on January 20.

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Financials were down and were among the biggest sector decliners in the S&P 500.

Citigroup tumbled, while credit-card firm American Express also fell as well as consumer finance firms, including Capital One. Buy-now, pay-later firm Affirm Holdings also fell.

Investors await Tuesday’s US consumer price index report, which could influence the outlook for Fed rate cuts. Markets for now are betting on at least two more quarter-point cuts before year-end, according to LSEG data. REUTERS