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Weekly Global Market News – January 26

Weekly Global Market Updates – January 26 Week Ahead: Policy, politics and profits collide A busy stretch lies ahead for markets. Central banks take the stage, geopolitics nudges the investment narrative, and earnings season shifts into a higher gear with market leaders across technology, autos, banks, energy and industrials reporting. Here’s your concise playbook. Top themes to watch 1) Fed week and the policy handover narrative Rates: The Federal Reserve sets policy on Wednesday. A hold is widely anticipated, but the statement and Chair Powell’s press conference will carry more weight than the decision itself. Watch any nuance around inflation persistence, tariff pass-through, labour market cooling and the pace of balance-sheet runoff. Politics meets policy: The White House is expected to unveil a nominee for the next Fed chair in the coming days. Prediction markets have sharply repriced the odds toward a Wall Street–friendly pick, while a previously favoured candidate has been ruled out in recent press chatter. Markets will parse the choice for clues on how aggressively the next leadership might lean on growth vs inflation risks. 2) UK–China thaw on test UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer heads to Beijing this week, positioning the UK for a more pragmatic stance on trade, investment and academic ties. Expect discussions to touch financial services access, investment screening, immigration controls and sector-specific cooperation. Any signs of a detente could matter for UK-listed names with China exposure (global banks, luxury, miners, education-adjacent services). 3) Big Tech earnings: AI spend vs ROI Apple (Thu): A pivotal update in a year framed by leadership succession planning and efforts to accelerate its AI roadmap, including a high-profile tie-up with Google. Investors will focus on iPhone unit trends, China demand, services growth, memory cost headwinds and any colour on generative AI integration across the ecosystem. Microsoft (Wed): Capex has surprised to the upside as cloud and AI build-outs continue. Watch Azure growth, AI workload monetisation, gross margin mix, and any commentary on diversifying dependencies on external AI partners. Guidance on FY capex (consensus pegs triple-digit billions) will be key to broader AI-infrastructure sentiment. Meta, IBM, ServiceNow, ASML, SAP, Samsung and others will help investors triangulate AI investment intensity, supply-chain bottlenecks and the timing of return on spend. 4) Autos pivot: autonomy and pricing power Tesla (Wed) faces the market after ceding the global EV volume crown to BYD. Attention will be on delivery trajectories, price discipline vs margin protection, Full Self-Driving adoption/ASP, and progress on AI and robotics initiatives. Supply chain: Any commentary on battery input costs and memory pricing will feed through to broader semiconductor and materials sentiment. 5) Banks, payments and credit quality Lloyds Banking Group (Thu) opens UK bank reporting. Net interest margin sustainability, deposit mix, capital returns and provisions tied to the UK motor finance issue will drive the narrative. Visa and Mastercard (Thu): Cross-border volumes, US consumer throughput, travel spend resilience and delinquency trends will be read across to global consumption. Deutsche Bank, ING, Nasdaq and others provide a European lens on fee income, trading, and capital deployment. 6) Industrial strength vs execution risk Aerospace/defence: Boeing (Tue), RTX (Tue), General Dynamics (Wed), Lockheed Martin (Thu), Northrop Grumman (Tue). Focus on program delivery, engine remediation, cash conversion and defence backlog durability. Cyclicals: Caterpillar (Thu) and Dow (Thu) are bellwethers for capex, construction, commodities and pricing power. 7) Energy and commodities ExxonMobil and Chevron (Fri): Capex discipline, upstream growth, buybacks and refined product margins. Commentary on LNG and Permian productivity will be closely watched. Miners: Production updates (Glencore, Antofagasta) will colour the outlook for copper, coal and trading earnings volatility. Macro calendar — the highlights Central banks Wednesday: US Federal Reserve rate decision and press conference Wednesday: Bank of Canada rate decision Inflation and growth Australia CPI (Wed) Germany: preliminary January CPI and HICP, plus labour market and first Q4 GDP read (Fri) Eurozone: flash Q4 GDP and December unemployment (Fri) France: flash Q4 GDP (Fri) US: December PPI (Fri) Other key releases Japan: December services PPI (Tue); BoJ December meeting minutes (Wed) UK: BRC Shop Price Index (Tue); BoE money and credit (Fri) US: JOLTS job openings and Conference Board consumer confidence (Tue); Q3 productivity/costs revision (Thu) Earnings — names likely to set the tone Tuesday General Motors, Boeing, UPS, Union Pacific, Texas Instruments, Kimberly-Clark, LVMH, Northrop Grumman, NextEra Energy, UnitedHealth, RTX, American Airlines, Nucor, Seagate, Logitech Wednesday Microsoft, Meta, IBM, ServiceNow, Tesla, Starbucks, ASML, General Dynamics, PPG, AT&T, KPN, Levi Strauss, Corning, Textron Thursday Apple, Samsung Electronics, SAP, Visa, Mastercard, Blackstone, Deutsche Bank, ING, Lloyds, Caterpillar, Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, Sanofi, H&M, easyJet, Royal Caribbean, Nokia, STMicroelectronics, Nasdaq, United Rentals, Glencore production, Antofagasta production Friday ExxonMobil, Chevron, American Express, Aon, Colgate-Palmolive, Verizon, Franklin Resources, Canadian National Railway, Nomura, Electrolux, Eastman Chemical What could move markets unexpectedly A hawkish rhetorical tilt from the Fed on inflation stickiness or QT, or any hint of openness to earlier cuts could swing the front end of the curve and growth vs value leadership. A Fed chair nomination perceived as markedly market-friendly (or the reverse) could reprice rate-path expectations and USD direction. Tech capex discipline: stronger-than-expected capital intensity without clear monetisation could weigh on AI beneficiaries; conversely, evidence of monetisation ramp could reignite AI equity momentum. Autos margin surprise: firmer pricing or faster autonomy monetisation could challenge prevailing EV skepticism. UK–China signals: concrete steps on financial services access or investment flows would be supportive for select UK large-caps with Asia exposure. Quick reference: Day-by-day snapshot Monday  Market holidays: Australia (Australia Day observed), India (Republic Day) Select results: Ryanair, WR Berkley, Nitto Denko, Costain Tuesday Data: Japan services PPI; US JOLTS; US consumer confidence; UK BRC shop prices Earnings: Boeing, GM, UPS, RTX, Northrop, LVMH, Texas Instruments, Kimberly-Clark, Seagate, Logitech, UnitedHealth, American Airlines, Nucor, NextEra Wednesday Central banks: Fed; Bank of Canada Data: Australia CPI; Japan BoJ minutes; UK capital markets statistics Earnings: Microsoft, Meta, IBM, ServiceNow, Tesla, Starbucks, ASML, General Dynamics, PPG, AT&T, KPN, Levi Strauss, Corning, Textron Thursday Data: US productivity/costs revision Earnings: Apple, Samsung,

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January 19 – Daily Market Update

19 January 2026 – Daily Market Updates Markets Daily: Risk appetite cools as trade tensions resurface; earnings and central banks in focus At a glance Equities: European benchmarks slipped and US equity futures tracked lower; Asia finished mixed with Japan softer. Rates and FX: Short-dated core yields eased; haven currencies outperformed while the dollar was little changed on balance. Commodities: Precious metals advanced to new highs; energy prices were range-bound. Global overview A cautious tone gripped markets to start the week as investors weighed renewed trade rhetoric between the US and Europe alongside uneven global growth signals. With US cash equities closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, price action was led by Europe and Asia. Cyclical pockets most exposed to transatlantic trade—autos, luxury and select industrials—lagged, while defensives and commodity-linked names found support. The bid for safety was evident in firmer precious metals, modest strength in the Swiss franc, and a small rally in front-end European government bonds. Credit risk gauges ticked wider, reflecting a tentative pullback in risk appetite rather than broad stress. Regional highlights Europe: Stocks declined broadly, led by export-heavy sectors. A handful of company-specific downgrades and cautious outlooks added to pressure in consumer discretionary. Semicap equipment outperformed after strong order indications from one supplier, bucking the tech-sector drift. US: Futures pointed lower with volumes thinner into the holiday. Earnings season accelerates this week, and guidance tone will be key given elevated valuation starting points. Asia: Japan underperformed on political headlines and higher-rate concerns ahead of the central bank meeting later in the week. China-related assets were mixed after data signaled slower momentum into year-end, reinforcing the picture of uneven domestic demand. Policy and macro Trade: European officials signaled they are preparing responses should broad new US import levies materialize. Markets are watching for any move from rhetoric to policy that could ripple through supply chains and margins. Growth: Recent Chinese figures showed moderation, consistent with a gradual, bumpy post-pandemic normalization amid global protectionism. In Japan, a snap election call injected uncertainty into the policy outlook, with bonds softening on the risk of looser fiscal settings. Central banks: The Bank of Japan meets Friday with markets parsing any tweaks to guidance. Several smaller central banks in Europe and Asia also decide policy this week. Earnings lens The next leg of the rally hinges on delivery. With indices near highs, there’s less room for earnings misses or cautious outlooks. Focus areas: Top-line resilience vs. FX headwinds in Europe Margin trends in consumer and industrials given input-cost normalization AI- and cloud-driven capex durability for semis and software Credit quality and deposit dynamics for US regional banks Week ahead: key markers to watch Monday: US markets closed (MLK Day); Canada inflation. Tuesday: Euro-area and Germany surveys; UK labor data; early US bank and travel/streaming results. Wednesday: UK inflation; US housing and construction indicators; high-profile policy and corporate appearances at the annual business forum in Switzerland. Thursday: US GDP (advance), personal income and PCE inflation; labor-market claims; multiple EM/DM rate decisions. Friday: Japan CPI and policy decision; preliminary PMIs across major economies; UK and Canada retail updates; US consumer sentiment. Cross-asset moves Equities: Pullback concentrated in trade-sensitive sectors; defensives and selected commodity names fared better. Expect positioning to rebalance around earnings beats/misses and guidance. Rates: Front-end core yields dipped as growth and policy uncertainty nudged duration buyers back in; long-end moves were contained. FX: Dollar mixed; CHF and JPY found support on haven demand; high-beta FX lagged. Commodities: Gold and silver extended gains on geopolitical and policy hedging; oil held in a tight band as supply risks met soft demand signals. What matters from here Policy path vs. rhetoric: Concrete steps on tariffs would have broader implications for inflation, margins and central bank reaction functions; headlines alone can keep volatility elevated. Earnings credibility: With lofty multiples, guidance for 2026 profit trajectories may steer leadership more than backward-looking beats. Liquidity and flows: Recent months have seen strong inflows into US equity funds, cushioning dips; a reversal would amplify any earnings disappointments. Credit as a canary: Monitoring spread moves in sub-investment grade as a real-time gauge of risk tolerance. The market is treating trade salvos as a tail risk rather than a base case, but pricing in a higher risk premium across trade-exposed equities and credit. Near term, earnings and central bank messaging are likely to dominate. Expect choppy trading around guidance, with quality balance sheets and visible cash flows better positioned if volatility persists. This publication is for information only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Markets are volatile and past performance is not indicative of future results. Consider your objectives and risk tolerance before making investment decisions. Disclaimer: Trading foreign exchange and/or contracts for difference on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors as you could sustain losses in excess of deposits. 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You should consider whether you understand how Rolling Spot Contracts and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. January 19 – Daily Market Update January 19, 2026 19 January 2026 –

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