Stock futures rose Friday, the first trading day of 2026, as tech looked to build on its momentum from last year. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures traded 192 points higher, or 0.4%. S&P 500 futures gained 0.6%, and Nasdaq-100 futures popped 1%. Friday’s gain marks a reversal from the first-day trading trend of the last few years. The S&P 500 finished lower on the first day of trading for each of the last three years. Going back to the 1950s, there is no discernible trend, with the first day finishing positive about 48% of the time, according to Bespoke Investment Group. In the premarket, Nvidia shares rose more than 1%, while Palantir Technologies advanced more than 2%. Both artificial intelligence-related names were big winners in 2025, with Nvidia rising about 39% and Palantir surging 135%. Fellow tech stocks Apple, Alphabet and Microsoft also traded higher. Elsewhere, shares of online home goods company Wayfair and luxury furniture retailer RH jumped more than 3% and about 5%, respectively, after President Donald Trump on New Year’s Eve postponed tariff increases on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities for a year. The order specifically delays a 30% duty on upholstered furniture and 50% levy on kitchen cabinets and vanities, keeping in place a 25% tariff on those goods that was imposed back in September. Tech was the best trade of 2025, leading the broader market to sharp gain as investors continued to pile into AI names. The S&P 500 gained more than 16% last year, marking its third straight annual advance. The Nasdaq Composite jumped more than 20% last year, and the Dow climbed around 13%. The three benchmarks hit record highs last year. “It was a strong year overall thanks to continued economic growth, optimism around AI, and more central bank rate cuts,” Deutsche Bank strategists wrote. “However, those headline gains masked huge volatility, particularly in April when the Liberation Day tariff announcements sparked the 5th biggest two-day slump for the S&P 500 since WWII.” Wall Street strategists expect more gains for the U.S. stock market in 2026. The CNBC Market Strategist Survey shows the average S&P 500 target for the year is 7,629, which implies upside of 11.4%. Treasury yields were little changed on Friday, the first trading day of the year, as investors weighed the economic outlook and the prospects for further rate cuts. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was less than 1 basis point higher at 4.155% The yield on the 2-year Treasury was last seen flat at 3.469%. The 30-year Treasury yield rose 1 basis point to 4.84%. South Korea’s Kospi hit a new record Friday as Asia-Pacific markets kicked off the new year trading mixed. The Kospi was up 2.27%, and hit a closing record high of 4,309.63. The small-cap Kosdaq was 2.17% higher, closing at 945.57. Some Asian markets were still closed for the holidays, including Japan and mainland China. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 2.62% in its final hour of trade, with educational services stocks leading gains. Singapore’s Straits Times Index also hit a record high Friday, and was last up 0.32%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.15%, closing at 8,727.8. Oil prices steadied on the first day of trade in 2026 after registering their biggest annual loss since ‍2020 as investors weighed ‍oversupply concerns against geopolitical ‍risks including the war in Ukraine and Venezuela exports. Brent crude futures dropped 4 cents on Friday to $60.81 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down ‌3 ‌cents at $57.39. Precious metals kicked off the New Year on a strong note on Friday, rebounding from year-end declines as tensions between major powers and U.S. rate cut hopes boosted investor appetite for bullion. Spot gold climbed nearly 2% to $4,397.66 per ounce, after hitting a record high of $4,549.71 on December 26. It had dropped to a two-week low on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures for February delivery gained 1.6% to $4,409.90/oz.