Traders work during the BitGo initial public offering (IPO) on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Futures linked to the S&P 500 traded near the flatline Thursday night after the major averages posted back-to-back gains on easing geopolitical fears.
S&P 500 futures were marginally lower, while futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 21 points, or less than 0.1%. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped about 0.2%.
In after-hours trading, shares of Intel tumbled 12% after the chipmaker reported a disappointing first-quarter outlook.
The major averages rallied for a second session as investors were appeased by news of easing trade tensions and geopolitical risk. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced more than 300 points, or 0.6%. The S&P 500 added roughly 0.6%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9%. The small-cap Russell 2000 closed at a record.
Stocks began their rebound on Wednesday after President Donald Trump called off his threatened tariffs on the imports of eight European nations, set to start Feb.1. The president’s move came after Trump announced that he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte reached a “framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland.”
Trump had also told CNBC on Wednesday that “we have a concept of a deal” with the Arctic island. To be sure, Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Thursday he doesn’t know what’s in the “framework” deal that Trump announced, and stressed that any such deal must respect Greenland’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“Details on the agreement are sparse and the geopolitical spat over the island could resurface, but investors are taking relief from the quick progress towards a deal following significant market turbulence at the start of the week,” said James McCann, senior economist at Edward Jones.
He also pointed to the recent surge in gold prices. Gold futures settled at another record on Thursday.
“Interestingly, while risk assets are rebounding, gold is holding onto most its gain over recent days, continuing a strong run for this precious metal amid increasing bouts of geopolitical uncertainty, concerns over the long-term trajectory of the U.S public finances and increasing political pressure on the Federal Reserve,” McCann added.
Gains on Wednesday and Thursday erased the Dow’s losses from earlier in the week. The 30-stock Dow is up less than 0.1% on the week. However, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are on track for their second negative week in a row, down 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively.
Dow Transports close at all-time high, confirming bull market’s Dow Theory
The Dow Jones Transportation Average closed at an all-time high Thursday and touched an intraday peak as well, confirming the Dow Theory in the current bull market and pointing to stocks’ underlying strength and breadth.
In fact, the Dow Transports — comprised of 20 leading shipping, logistics, trucking, rail and airline companies — has set at least three all-time closing highs in January, reinforcing the rally that’s also carried the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average to several record closes this month.
Charles Dow, cofounder of the Wall Street Journal and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, believed that both the transports and the industrials had to each make new highs during roughly the same period in order to demonstrate the durability of an up move in stocks.
Conversely, if only one of the two averages made a new high, it meant that stocks were vulnerable to weakness or a reversal.
— Scott Schnipper
Capital One acquires startup Brex for $5.15 billion in company’s latest deal
Capital One said Thursday that it was acquiring startup Brex for $5.15 billion, the latest splashy deal undertaken by CEO Richard Fairbank.
The firm, which disclosed the deal in its fourth-quarter earnings statement, said it would pay 50% cash and 50% stock for Brex.
Under Fairbank, a rare founder-CEO of a major U.S. bank, Capital One acquired rival card firm Discover Financial last year for about $35 billion. That deal was Fairbank’s crowning achievement, giving the credit card lender access to one of the only payment networks of any scale.
“Since our founding, we set out to build a payments company at the frontier of the technology revolution,” Fairbank said in a release. “Acquiring Brex accelerates this journey, especially in the business payments marketplace.”
— Hugh Son
Intel, Clorox and Capital One among the stocks making biggest moves in extended trading
Check out the companies making headlines in after-hours trading.
- Intel — Shares of the chipmaker slid more than 11% in extended trading. Intel gave soft revenue and earnings per share guidance for the current quarter. Intel said it expects first-quarter revenue between $11.7 billion and $12.7 billion, and breakeven adjusted earnings per share. Analysts polled by LSEG had called for earnings of 5 cents per share on $12.51 billion in sales.
- Intuitive Surgical — Shares of the surgical systems maker added 2% on the back of strong quarterly financial results. For the fourth quarter, Intuitive Surgical posted adjusted earnings of $2.53 per share. Analysts expected earnings of $2.26 per share. The company’s revenue came out at $2.87 billion, greater than the $2.75 billion expected by analysts.
- Capital One — Capital One stock dipped more than 2%. The bank announced on Thursday that it agreed to acquire startup Brex for $5.15 billion, in a deal consisting of 50% cash and 50% stock. Separately, fourth quarter adjusted earnings came up short against analysts’ estimates, landing at $3.86 per share. The LSEG consensus called for $4.11 per share.
- Clorox — The maker of household cleaning products saw shares slide roughly 1%. Clorox announced that it has entered an agreement to acquire Gojo Industries, the manufacturer of Purell, valued at $2.25 billion.
For the full list, read here.
— Pia Singh
