On Tuesday morning, stock markets showed minimal movement after a significant surge that elevated the Dow Jones Industrial Average to record highs the previous day. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also experienced gains, buoyed by geopolitical news regarding the U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and President Donald Trump’s recent encouragement for American oil companies to increase their investments in the region.
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, delivered a compelling keynote address that showcased the company’s next-generation Vera Rubin AI chips, which are now in full production. Huang highlighted that this year’s chips wouldn’t encounter the transition issues seen in the previous year. He characterized them as more powerful and energy-efficient. Emphasizing advancements in fields such as autonomous vehicles, robotics, and personal AI, Huang proclaimed, “The ChatGPT moment for physical AI is here.” Nvidia’s partnerships span major cloud providers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet, as well as notable firms in industrial and agentics software sectors.
In the banking sector, Wells Fargo faced a downgrade from hold to sell by Baird, which maintained its price target at $90 but suggested limited upside for bank stocks by 2026. The firm also cut its rating on KeyCorp to sell. Contrarily, some analysts predict a strong performance for banking stocks in 2026.
Goldman Sachs reported a 6% increase in Apple’s App Store sales for December, a deceleration from the previous month’s 9% growth. The slowdown has been attributed to challenges in the gaming and entertainment categories, alongside weakness in Asian markets like China and Japan. Despite these results, the general service sector remains robust, warranting a continued buy strategy.
BMO Capital raised its price target for Texas Roadhouse from $155 to $170, although this remains below the stock’s recent closing price of approximately $174. Analysts indicated that the restaurant sector may face another challenging year, citing consumer spending pressures, potential store closures, and high beef prices.
Market analysts have also provided various insights into oilfield stocks, with SLB upgraded from hold to buy by Evercore ISI, along with a price target adjustment to $54 from $38. Meanwhile, Halliburton was downgraded to hold, though its price target was increased to $35 from $28, with analysts citing headwinds specific to U.S. land exposure.
Meanwhile, UBS downgraded homebuilder Lennar from buy to hold and cut its price target to $122, suggesting potential delays in improving gross margins. They also adjusted their price target for D.R. Horton from $195 to $191 while maintaining a buy rating, indicating optimism for the homebuilding sector going into 2026—news that could positively impact home improvement retailer Home Depot.
In digital finance, Bank of America resumed coverage on SoFi with a sell rating and a revised price target of $20.50, expressing that limited. RBC Capital revised its target on Nike down to $78 from $86. Though analysts retained their buy rating on the athletic retailer, they acknowledged that the turnaround is progressing more slowly than anticipated, largely due to challenges in the Chinese market.
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