The S&P 500 rallied to a record high close for the week, lifted by Broadcom and other chipmakers, while a weaker-than-expected jobs report did little to alter expectations of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year.

Wall Street's three main indexes all gained sharply in 2026's first full week of trading, fueled by increases in materials, industrials and other sectors that have lagged technology stocks in recent years.

A Labor Department report showed US employment growth slowed more than expected in December, but a decline in the unemployment rate to 4.4 percent suggested the labour market was not rapidly deteriorating.

Chip stocks rallied, with the PHLX semiconductor index jumping 2.7 percent to a record high.

Lam Research rallied 8.7 percent to US$218.36 after Mizuho raised ‍its price target on the chip manufacturing tool maker to US$220 from US$200.

Broadcom rose 3.8 percent, Alphabet added 1 percent and Tesla climbed 2.1 percent, ⁠all lifting the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

Vistra jumped 10.5 percent after Meta Platforms agreed to buy power from the company's nuclear plants.

"On the overall ‍AI theme, investors are getting granular and picking the winners and losers in terms of sub-themes and individual names," said Zachary Hill, head of portfolio management at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, North Carolina.

"We view that as a more positive development. It means that we're getting closer to the monetisation phase, where people can actually see and touch the revenue enhancements that are going to come from this revolutionary technology."

Intel rallied almost 11 percent after Trump ‌said he had a "great meeting" with the chipmaker's chief executive, Tan Lip-Bu.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.65 percent to end the session at 6,966.

The Nasdaq gained 0.82 percent to 23,671 while the Dow Jones ‍Industrial Average rose 0.48 percent to 49,504.

For the week, the gains are 1.6 percent for the S&P 500, 1.9 percent for the Nasdaq and 2.3 percent for the Dow.

The gains came as the US Supreme Court said it would not issue a ruling on Friday on the legality of US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs. This left investors, many of whom expected a decision, awaiting clarity. (Reuters)