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On Thursday, the US stock market rose steadily amid easing geopolitical tensions and encouraging macroeconomic data. By the end of the day, the Dow Jones (US30) increased by 0.63%. The S&P 500 (US500) gained 0.55%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq (US100) closed higher by 0.91%. President Donald Trump backed away from new tariff threats against Europe and outlined the framework for a future agreement regarding Greenland. The primary growth drivers were tech giants: Meta shares jumped 5.7%, Microsoft added 1.5%, Amazon 1.3%, Nvidia 0.8%, Alphabet 0.8%, and Apple 0.3%. The macroeconomic backdrop also supported risk appetite. Data showed a revision of US GDP growth for Q3 upward to 4.4%, initial jobless claims remained near 200,000, PCE inflation matched expectations, and consumer spending remained resilient. Collectively, this reduced concerns about the need for immediate monetary policy easing and bolstered investor confidence in the resilience of the US economy.

European equity markets rose yesterday. The German DAX (DE40) rose by 1.20%, the French CAC 40 (FR40) closed up 0.99%, the Spanish IBEX 35 (ES35) gained 1.28%, and the British FTSE 100 (UK100) finished positive 0.12%. The rebound occurred as sentiment improved across European markets after US President Donald Trump suspended tariff threats following a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. According to sources, talks in Davos led to an agreement to resume dialogue between the US and Denmark regarding the 1951 defense agreement related to Greenland, easing fears of further escalation. Major banking companies led the gains: Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, UniCredit, and Santander added between 3% and 4%.

The Swiss franc (CHF) traded near 0.79 per US dollar, remaining close to its strongest level since 2011, amid a steady, albeit moderate, inflow into safe-haven assets. After maintaining the key interest rate at 0% for two consecutive meetings, SNB officials signaled that cutting rates below zero carries significant risks. In the near term, markets expect neither easing nor tightening of monetary policy.

On Friday, silver (XAG) jumped nearly 3% to $99 per ounce, reaching new record highs as a weakening dollar provided additional support for precious metal prices. Investors fear that Europe may use its significant assets in the US as a retaliatory measure over the Greenland issue. The surge in silver prices was also driven by a historic short squeeze and active buying by retail investors, as well as tightening export controls from China.

WTI crude oil prices continued to decline on Thursday, dropping toward $59 per barrel amid growing concerns about a global supply glut. The International Energy Agency (IEA) reiterated that oil supply is expected to significantly exceed demand this year, despite a slight upward revision to the consumption growth projections. Additional pressure came from US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showing a 3.6 million barrel increase in commercial crude inventories for the week ending January 16, significantly exceeding market expectations of a roughly 1 million barrel increase.

Severe freezing weather triggered a historic spike in US natural gas (XNG) prices, which rose above $5.53 per MMBtu, approaching levels last seen in December 2022. The sharp rise in quotes is linked to prognoses of extreme cold, which intensified expectations of a surge in demand while simultaneously increasing the risk of supply disruptions. US natural gas prices are showing a gain of more than 70% for the week, marking the sharpest weekly price jump since 1990.

Asian markets mostly rose yesterday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) jumped 1.73%, China’s FTSE China A50 (CHA50) fell 0.28%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) gained 0.17%, and Australia’s ASX 200 (AU200) posted a positive result of 0.75%. The New Zealand dollar (NZD) declined to around $0.592 following higher-than-expected inflation data. In the fourth quarter, annual CPI growth accelerated to 3.1%, exceeding both the 3% prognosis and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s (RBNZ) target range, reaching its highest level since Q2 2024. Although the regulator still expects inflation to slow to 2% within the year, the strong figures reinforced the view that the policy easing cycle has concluded and increased the likelihood of interest rate hikes.

• S&P 500 (US500) 6,913.35 +37.73 (+0.55%)
• Dow Jones (US30) 49,384.01 +306.78 (+0.63%)
• DAX (DE40) 24,856.47 +295.49 (+1.20%)
• FTSE 100 (UK100) 10,150.05 +11.96 (+0.12%)
• USD Index 98.31 -0.45% (-0.45%)
   

News feed for: 2026.01.23

• Australia Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 00:00 (GMT+2); – AUD (MED)
• Australia Services PMI (m/m) at 00:00 (GMT+2); – AUD (MED)
• Japan National Core Consumer Price Index (m/m) at 01:30 (GMT+2); – JPY (MED)
• Japan Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 02:30 (GMT+2); – JPY (MED)
• Japan Services PMI (m/m) at 02:30 (GMT+2); – JPY (MED)
• Japan BOJ Policy Rate at 05:00 (GMT+2); – JPY (HIGH)
• Japan Monetary Policy Statement at 05:00 (GMT+2); – JPY (HIGH)
• Japan BOJ Outlook Report at 05:00 (GMT+2); – JPY (HIGH)
• Singapore Inflation Rate at 07:00 (GMT+2); – SGD (MED)
• UK Retail Sales (m/m) at 09:00 (GMT+2); – GBP (MED)
• Eurozone Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 11:00 (GMT+2); – EUR (MED)
• Eurozone Services PMI (m/m) at 11:00 (GMT+2); – EUR (MED)
• UK Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 11:30 (GMT+2); – GBP (MED)
• UK Services PMI (m/m) at 11:30 (GMT+2); – GBP (MED)
• Eurozone ECB President Lagarde Speech at 12:00 (GMT+2); – EUR (LOW)
• Canada Retail Sales (m/m) at 15:30 (GMT+2); – CAD (MED)
• US Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 16:45 (GMT+2); – USD (MED)
• US Services PMI (m/m) at 16:45 (GMT+2); – USD (MED)
• US Michigan Inflation Expectations (m/m) at 17:00 (GMT+2). – USD (MED)

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