There were a number of important news announcements impacting the market. Inflation data was released while a bevy of retail sales and price change information came out during the middle of the week.

On Tuesday, monthly and annual CPI data was made public based on information gathered through the end of December. During December, overall inflation was up 0.3 percent while core inflation was up 0.2 percent. Overall inflation matched analyst expectations while core inflation came in lower than the expected 0.3 percent increase. On an annualized basis, the inflation rate was 2.7 percent, which was exactly what was predicted prior to the report’s release.

Wednesday saw the release of retail sale and price producer index (PPI) figures for the month of November. The government decided not to release data from December likely because of the shutdown late in 2025. In November, the core PPI was flat compared to an expected increase of 0.2 percent. The overall PPI was up 0.2 percent, which was in line with expectations.

Retail sales were up 0.6 percent compared to an expected increase of 0.5 percent while core retail sales were up 0.5 percent compared to an expected increase of 0.4 percent. October’s PPI data was also released on Wednesday morning and found that core PPI was up 0.3 percent while overall PPI was up 0.1 percent.

On Thursday, unemployment claims data for the last seven days was made public. During that time, 198,000 requests for benefits were made compared to an expected 215,000.

The S&P 500 was relatively flat this week dropping 9.95 points to finish Friday’s trading at 6,940. This was a drop of 0.14 percent for an index that has had a relatively choppy start to 2026. On Monday, the market made its high of the week when it peaked at 6,985. The index then reversed and hit its low of the week on Wednesday afternoon when it bottomed out at 6,890. Thursday and Friday were spent vacillating inside of this range.

Those who traded Dow stocks or futures were also likely frustrated by the lack of movement from the index. On Monday, the market made a high of 49,587 before reversing and hitting a low of 48,879 on Wednesday. The Dow finished Friday’s trading at 49,359, which was a gain of 87 points on the week.

Finally, the Nasdaq was also rangebound for most of the week. Like the other two indexes, it made a high on Monday and a low on Wednesday. The weekly high was 25,809 while the low was 25,280. On Friday, the market closed at 25,529, which was 145 points lower than Monday’s opening.

In international news, Great Britain announced on Thursday night that its gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.3 percent over the last month. This beat analyst expectations of an expansion of just 0.1 percent.

The first half of next week looks to be a slow one for traders in the United States. Monday is the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, which means banks and federal buildings will be closed. On Thursday, the Core PCE Price Index is scheduled to be released in addition to final GDP data from the third quarter of 2025. The release date was delayed by the government shutdown. Finally, the Flash Manufacturing PMI and Flash Services PMI will be released on Friday.

The first full week of trading in 2026 was another hectic one as a number of important news releases were made public. Perhaps the most consequential were the December jobs reports that came out on Wednesday and Friday mornings. The release of the ISM Manufacturing PMI, ISM Services PMI and JOLTS reports also created some volatility.

On Monday, the ISM Manufacturing PMI came in at 47.9, which was lower than the expected 48.3. It was also lower than last month’s reading of 48.2. Regardless, the number indicates that the sector is in a period of contraction, which meshes well with some of the other data points that came out later in the week.

On Wednesday, the ADP released its version of the nonfarm payroll report, and it found that 41,000 jobs were added in December compared to an expected 49,000. November’s reading was revised upward from a loss of 32,000 jobs to a loss of just 29,000 jobs. However, the sluggish December figure was seen as a surprise considering that employers typically ramp up hiring before Christmas.

The ISM Services PMI came in at 54.4 compared to an expected 52.2 and last month’s figure of 52.6. This was the one bright spot of the week and implies that consumers are still willing to spend money.

Finally on Wednesday, the JOLTS employment report found that there were 7.15 million open positions in the United States. This was compared to an expected 7.61 million positions and 7.42 million positions available in November. These figures may indicate that employers are opting to leave open positions vacant as opposed to trying to replace those who have been let go in recent months.

On Thursday, the unemployment claims data came out and revealed that 208,000 people requested benefits over the past seven days. That is slightly lower than the 213,000 requests analysts had expected prior to the release.

On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed that the economy added 50,000 jobs in December compared to an expected 66,000. It was thought that recent Fed rate cuts would help to spur hiring. After the report came out, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he would be cautious regarding future cuts. The unemployment rate ticked down 0.2 percent from November to 4.4 percent.

The S&P 500 was up 1.1 percent this week to close at 6,966, and this was a gain of almost 76 points for an index poised to top 7,000 for the first time ever. For the week, the index made its low of 6,895 just after Monday’s open and closed near its weekly high on Friday.

The Dow Jones closed the week up 1.81 percent higher to finish at 49,504 on Friday afternoon. This was a gain of more than 800 points over the last five days. As with the S&P 500, the Dow made a low of 48,650 on the open Monday and finished near its weekly high on Friday.

The Nasdaq was up 1.3 percent this week to close at 25,766. This was a gain of 331 points for the group of stocks that looks to pick up where it left off last year as the top performing major American index.

In international news, Australia announced Tuesday night that inflation was flat in November and was 3.4 on an annualized basis. Canada announced on Friday that its economy added 8,200 new jobs in December. It also announced that the nation’s unemployment rate rose 0.1 percent to 6.8 percent.

The upcoming week is sure to be another interesting one as oil markets continue to react to Trump’s actions in Venezuela. Gold and silver markets should also continue to see volatility as new leverage rules impact trading strategies. Inflation data will be released on Tuesday while retail sales and price producer index (PPI) figures come out on Wednesday.