S&P 500 Futures Rise in Premarket Trading; Tapestry, Deckers Outdoor Lead
Market Performance: Tapestry Inc. and Deckers Outdoor Corp. saw significant pre-market gains of 16.4% and 14.4%, respectively, while Centene Corp., Booz Allen Hamilton, and Western Digital also posted increases of at least 10%. Conversely, Olin Corp. and Comfort Systems USA experienced declines of 9.0% and 6.2%.
Broader Market Trends: S&P 500 futures rose by 0.19% and Dow futures by 0.17%, while the Cboe Volatility Index futures decreased by 1.04%. In commodities, Brent crude oil increased by 0.80%, gold fell by 0.50%, and Bitcoin dropped to $67,942.
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Three Major Buybacks Reflect Market Sentiment in 2026
Western Digital's Buyback Program: Western Digital has announced a $4 billion buyback program, signaling confidence in its business fundamentals despite recent stock price declines. The company has seen significant gains in its stock performance, delivering a total return of 284% in 2025.
PepsiCo's Strong Performance: PepsiCo has performed strongly in 2026, with a nearly 19% increase in its stock. The company has also announced a new $10 billion share buyback program, which represents a significant portion of its market capitalization, indicating a positive outlook for its business.
ServiceNow's Decline: ServiceNow has experienced a substantial decline in its stock price, down over 40% in recent months, making it one of the worst performers among S&P 500 stocks. Despite this, the company has shown signs of resilience with strong financials and positive earnings reports.
Market Analysts' Recommendations: Analysts are recommending five specific stocks for investors to buy now, suggesting these companies are well-positioned for growth despite broader market challenges. The recommendations come amid a general decline in stock prices for major companies, highlighting potential investment opportunities.
US Stocks Rebound as Tech Shares Recover
- Market Recovery: The S&P 500 Index rose by 0.46%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.09%, and the Nasdaq 100 climbed by 0.61%, indicating a rebound in the market driven by recovering tech and chipmaker stocks, reflecting investor confidence in economic growth.
- Mining Stocks Surge: Gold prices increased by over 1% and silver prices jumped more than 6%, boosting mining stocks with Coeur Mining up over 6% and Freeport McMoRan up more than 5%, suggesting rising investor demand for precious metals amid inflation concerns.
- Positive Earnings Outlook: Over 79% of S&P 500 companies that reported earnings exceeded expectations, with Q4 earnings growth projected at 8.4%, marking the tenth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth, indicating sustained corporate profitability that could further drive stock market gains.
- Economic Data Focus: The market is closely watching upcoming employment and inflation data, with January nonfarm payrolls expected to rise by 69,000 and the unemployment rate to remain at 4.4%, as these figures will influence investor expectations regarding future monetary policy, potentially leading to market volatility.
Shares of U.S. Memory Chip Manufacturers Decline in Early Trading
Market Performance: U.S. memory chip makers experienced a decline in their stock prices during early trading sessions.
Industry Impact: The fall in shares reflects broader concerns about demand and pricing pressures in the semiconductor market.
Samsung Nears Approval for AI Memory Chip Shipments
- AI Memory Chip Progress: Samsung is close to securing Nvidia's certification for its latest AI memory chip, HBM4, with shipments to Nvidia and AMD expected next month, thereby addressing the growing demand for memory chips and enhancing the company's position in the competitive semiconductor market.
- Market Rebound: Tech stocks and the broader market rebounded on Friday, with Nvidia shares rising nearly 8%, reflecting investor confidence in the recovery of the chip industry, although Nvidia's stock remains down 11% from its peak on November 3, indicating market volatility.
- Supply-Demand Dynamics: The ongoing shortage of memory chips has driven up shares of chipmakers like Micron, SanDisk, and Western Digital, as investors anticipate robust demand and rising prices, providing a favorable backdrop for Samsung's market performance.
- Regulatory Challenges: Nvidia is awaiting approval for the sale of its H200 chips in China; while Beijing is close to approving imports, the U.S. is considering additional restrictions, and this complex diplomatic situation may impact Nvidia's market performance and stock price fluctuations.
Tech Sector Momentum: Key Memory Stocks to Buy
- Market Trend Analysis: The tech sector is currently experiencing strong upward momentum, particularly in the memory market, where the surge in AI demand has led to a shortage of NAND flash, making stocks like Sandisk exceptionally hot, which is expected to drive rapid revenue and gross margin growth.
- Sandisk's Strong Performance: As the only pure-play publicly traded U.S. flash memory maker, Sandisk has seen its stock price soar since its spin-off from Western Digital in February 2025, primarily benefiting from tight NAND pricing and the demand for high-performance solid-state drives, a trend expected to continue.
- Micron's Technological Edge: Micron Technology derives 80% of its revenue from DRAM, and with HBM demand growing at an annual rate of 40%, the company is working to increase capacity to meet this demand, although the complexity of HBM production has led to a DRAM industry shortage.
- Investment Recommendations: Despite Sandisk's strong current performance, it was not included in the Motley Fool's list of top investment stocks, suggesting that investors should focus on stocks with greater potential for higher returns.
Micron Fully Sold Out of Memory for 2026
- Supply-Demand Imbalance: The AI boom has created a significant shortage of DRAM, HBM, and NAND storage, with demand far outpacing supply, which is primarily controlled by a few key players, presenting a lucrative opportunity for memory designers and manufacturers.
- Micron's Revenue Surge: Micron's latest quarterly revenue reached $13.6 billion, a nearly 50% increase year-over-year, with projections for the next quarter to soar to $18.7 billion, highlighting its strong growth potential in the high-margin enterprise market.
- Western Digital Buyback: Western Digital announced a $4 billion stock buyback, signaling confidence in future growth, with its stock price surging over 50% since the beginning of 2026, reflecting strong market demand for its advanced storage solutions.
- SanDisk's Strong Performance: SanDisk reported a 31% revenue increase and a remarkable 64% rise in data center revenue, with expectations of adding over $1 billion in the next quarter, further solidifying its leadership in the NAND technology market.
Three Major Buybacks Reflect Market Sentiment in 2026
Western Digital's Buyback Program: Western Digital has announced a $4 billion buyback program, signaling confidence in its business fundamentals despite recent stock price declines. The company has seen significant gains in its stock performance, delivering a total return of 284% in 2025.
PepsiCo's Strong Performance: PepsiCo has performed strongly in 2026, with a nearly 19% increase in its stock. The company has also announced a new $10 billion share buyback program, which represents a significant portion of its market capitalization, indicating a positive outlook for its business.
ServiceNow's Decline: ServiceNow has experienced a substantial decline in its stock price, down over 40% in recent months, making it one of the worst performers among S&P 500 stocks. Despite this, the company has shown signs of resilience with strong financials and positive earnings reports.
Market Analysts' Recommendations: Analysts are recommending five specific stocks for investors to buy now, suggesting these companies are well-positioned for growth despite broader market challenges. The recommendations come amid a general decline in stock prices for major companies, highlighting potential investment opportunities.
US Stocks Rebound as Tech Shares Recover
- Market Recovery: The S&P 500 Index rose by 0.46%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.09%, and the Nasdaq 100 climbed by 0.61%, indicating a rebound in the market driven by recovering tech and chipmaker stocks, reflecting investor confidence in economic growth.
- Mining Stocks Surge: Gold prices increased by over 1% and silver prices jumped more than 6%, boosting mining stocks with Coeur Mining up over 6% and Freeport McMoRan up more than 5%, suggesting rising investor demand for precious metals amid inflation concerns.
- Positive Earnings Outlook: Over 79% of S&P 500 companies that reported earnings exceeded expectations, with Q4 earnings growth projected at 8.4%, marking the tenth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth, indicating sustained corporate profitability that could further drive stock market gains.
- Economic Data Focus: The market is closely watching upcoming employment and inflation data, with January nonfarm payrolls expected to rise by 69,000 and the unemployment rate to remain at 4.4%, as these figures will influence investor expectations regarding future monetary policy, potentially leading to market volatility.
Shares of U.S. Memory Chip Manufacturers Decline in Early Trading
Market Performance: U.S. memory chip makers experienced a decline in their stock prices during early trading sessions.
Industry Impact: The fall in shares reflects broader concerns about demand and pricing pressures in the semiconductor market.
Samsung Nears Approval for AI Memory Chip Shipments
- AI Memory Chip Progress: Samsung is close to securing Nvidia's certification for its latest AI memory chip, HBM4, with shipments to Nvidia and AMD expected next month, thereby addressing the growing demand for memory chips and enhancing the company's position in the competitive semiconductor market.
- Market Rebound: Tech stocks and the broader market rebounded on Friday, with Nvidia shares rising nearly 8%, reflecting investor confidence in the recovery of the chip industry, although Nvidia's stock remains down 11% from its peak on November 3, indicating market volatility.
- Supply-Demand Dynamics: The ongoing shortage of memory chips has driven up shares of chipmakers like Micron, SanDisk, and Western Digital, as investors anticipate robust demand and rising prices, providing a favorable backdrop for Samsung's market performance.
- Regulatory Challenges: Nvidia is awaiting approval for the sale of its H200 chips in China; while Beijing is close to approving imports, the U.S. is considering additional restrictions, and this complex diplomatic situation may impact Nvidia's market performance and stock price fluctuations.
Tech Sector Momentum: Key Memory Stocks to Buy
- Market Trend Analysis: The tech sector is currently experiencing strong upward momentum, particularly in the memory market, where the surge in AI demand has led to a shortage of NAND flash, making stocks like Sandisk exceptionally hot, which is expected to drive rapid revenue and gross margin growth.
- Sandisk's Strong Performance: As the only pure-play publicly traded U.S. flash memory maker, Sandisk has seen its stock price soar since its spin-off from Western Digital in February 2025, primarily benefiting from tight NAND pricing and the demand for high-performance solid-state drives, a trend expected to continue.
- Micron's Technological Edge: Micron Technology derives 80% of its revenue from DRAM, and with HBM demand growing at an annual rate of 40%, the company is working to increase capacity to meet this demand, although the complexity of HBM production has led to a DRAM industry shortage.
- Investment Recommendations: Despite Sandisk's strong current performance, it was not included in the Motley Fool's list of top investment stocks, suggesting that investors should focus on stocks with greater potential for higher returns.
Micron Fully Sold Out of Memory for 2026
- Supply-Demand Imbalance: The AI boom has created a significant shortage of DRAM, HBM, and NAND storage, with demand far outpacing supply, which is primarily controlled by a few key players, presenting a lucrative opportunity for memory designers and manufacturers.
- Micron's Revenue Surge: Micron's latest quarterly revenue reached $13.6 billion, a nearly 50% increase year-over-year, with projections for the next quarter to soar to $18.7 billion, highlighting its strong growth potential in the high-margin enterprise market.
- Western Digital Buyback: Western Digital announced a $4 billion stock buyback, signaling confidence in future growth, with its stock price surging over 50% since the beginning of 2026, reflecting strong market demand for its advanced storage solutions.
- SanDisk's Strong Performance: SanDisk reported a 31% revenue increase and a remarkable 64% rise in data center revenue, with expectations of adding over $1 billion in the next quarter, further solidifying its leadership in the NAND technology market.
