North American Morning Briefing: Stock Futures Gain Ahead of Rates Decision

OPENING CALL

Stocks rose premarket Wednesday after strong earnings from semiconductor companies, while investors are keeping a close eye on the dollar following Tuesday's selloff as they await the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision.

Nasdaq futures were advancing after Texas Instruments and ASML both issued solid guidance and it emerged that China had started approving purchases of Nvidia's H200 AI chip , suggesting the AI boom has legs.

That narrative faces further tests today, with Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Tesla all reporting after the closing bell.

The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged, but Chair Jerome Powell's comments could offer the market clues of any plans to reduce borrowing costs later in the year.

Stocks to Watch

Corning jumped 5% premarket, on track to extend Tuesday's rally that followed the company striking an up-to $6 billion deal to sell fiber-optic cable to Meta Platforms.

The Trump administration warned Seoul not to target technology companies, with recent discussions involving Coupang, The Wall Street Journal reported. Shares rose nearly 2% in New York premarket trade.

Nvidia climbed premarket after China's H200 approval. Futures were up 1.6%.

SoftBank is in talks to invest up to $30 billion more in OpenAI, adding to its already large stake. SoftBank rose 3.7%.

Economic Insight

There is a possibility that the new Fed chair to succeed Powell could be named this week , Aptus Capital Advisors said.

Betting markets favor former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and BlackRock's head of fixed income, Rick Rieder.

Watch For:

EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report; earnings from International Business Machines, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Starbucks, Tesla

Today's Top Headlines/Must Reads:

- Does This Bull Market Have Room to Run?

- Investors Assumed Medicare Advantage Was Safe Under the GOP. They Were Wrong.

- The Deflation Doom Loop Trapping China's Economy

MARKET WRAPS

Forex:

The DXY index edged lower. The dollar had fallen on Tuesday to a low not seen since early 2022 .

From threatening tariffs to designs on Greenland, Trump's actions continue to rattle markets, prompting investors to reduce exposure to U.S. assets, FP Markets said.

"This adds fuel to U.S. dollar downside and could ultimately bolster inflation."

Even before Trump's comments, the greenback was already lower on government-shutdown fears and a weak consumer confidence survey, Deutsche Bank said.

All this added to existing concerns pushing the dollar lower, "including questions around the Federal Reserve's independence, tariff policy uncertainty and the fiscal trajectory."

ING said the dollar selloff could gather steam .

Peel Hunt said a sudden depreciation in the dollar, accompanied by rising Treasury yields, could indicate investment outflows out of the U.S. and hurt global risk markets.

The euro turned lower after surging above $1.20 on Tuesday to hit its highest level against the dollar since 2021.

Barclays strategists said the euro could rise further still .

Jefferies said the euro was nearing levels where the ECB "will start to take notice."

The Swiss franc reversed some of Tuesday's sharp gains that lifted it to its strongest level against the dollar in just over 10 years.

The yen's dramatic weekend rally sparked speculation about official intervention but the usual early indicators of such action look quiet for now , Moody's Analytics said.

With or without intervention, FX markets seemed long overdue for a course correction , Moody's Analytics said.

Bonds:

Treasury yields rose across maturities ahead of the Fed's rate decision.

"Any dovish nuance in the Fed's communication could deepen pressure on both the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields," FXEM said.

Morgan Stanley said Treasury auctions had remained healthy recently , with strong long-end demand and low dealer backstopping.

Government bond yield curves and yield spreads are likely to remain stuck in ranges ahead of crucial FOMC guidance later in the day, according to Commerzbank.

Energy:

Oil prices gained further in early trading after surging about 3% in the previous session as traders monitor geopolitical risks and the impact of a massive winter storm on U.S. output.

Metals:

Gold broke through $5,200 after the dollar sank to a nearly four-year low.

The rally in the precious metal "reflects heightened geopolitical and economic risk, including shifts in U.S. policy and market stress in major bond markets, which has fuelled a debasement trade as investors seek refuge from volatile traditional assets," MUFG said.

Silver extended its rally following the dollar's decline, with investors shying away from sovereign bonds and currencies in favor of hard assets.

Citi Research said silver is likely to outperform further after rallying through $100/oz, raising its forecast for up to three months to $150/oz from $100/oz previously.

   TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES 

Shares in Chip-Machine Giant ASML Jump as AI Spending Booms

Shares of ASML Holding rose after it logged record quarterly orders and said it expects healthy sales growth this year, a sign that client spending to produce advanced chips behind the artificial-intelligence boom remains strong.

Investors have started to question whether high AI spending from some of the largest technology companies in the world is sustainable.

SK Hynix Caps Off Bumper Year With Record Quarter

Nvidia supplier SK Hynix posted record earnings for the final quarter of 2025 as the global artificial-intelligence boom continued to fuel strong demand for memory chips, buoying profits for major manufacturers.

The world's second-largest memory chip maker supplies high-bandwidth-memory products to Nvidia, and surging demand for such chips, which are a crucial component of AI accelerators and have higher margins than conventional memory products, has been a major earnings driver for the company.

Meta's AI Spending Spree Weighs on Earnings Outlook

Until last year, social-media giant Meta Platforms' earnings were all about advertising sales, which account for roughly 98% of revenue. But Meta has made dramatic investments in artificial-intelligence data centers and researchers, reshaping its balance sheet and cash flow statements. While ad sales remain paramount, investors will be looking closely at Meta's capital plans for 2026 when the company reports its fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday afternoon.

On average, Wall Street analysts expect revenue to rise by 21% from 2024 to $58.4 billion, significant growth for such a mature company. But expense growth is weighing on profitability, and the expectation is for earnings-per-share to rise by only 2% to $8.21.

Texas Instruments Says Data Centers, Industrial Recovery Driving Growth into First Quarter

Texas Instruments said it expects earnings growth in the current quarter as data centers contribute more to sales and the industrial market recovers.

Due to seasonal trends, the semiconductor company usually records lower earnings in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter. But this year, management's midpoint guidance for first-quarter earnings is ahead of what it reported in the fourth quarter.

Global Markets Mixed, U.S. Tech Futures Gain as Dollar Weakens Further

Global markets were mixed as U.S. futures largely gained, with anticipation of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's comments overshadowed by the dollar's continued selloff. The greenback sunk to a near four-year low as gold prices cantered past $5,200 a troy ounce, with haven investors continuing to look toward precious metals and the Swiss franc. President Trump appeared to encourage the dollar's weakening in comments to the press in Iowa, as the currency recorded its biggest daily fall since April.

The Fed is due to announce its latest rates decision later Wednesday. Consensus firmly expects rates to hold steady, though investors will watch closely for comments from Powell on the institution's independence, and signaling for further rate decisions.

Weaker Dollar's Inflation Effects Could Shape Rate Decisions, ECB's Villeroy Says

A weakening dollar could influence the direction of European Central Bank policy in the coming months, Governor of the Bank of France Francois Villeroy de Galhau said.

The central bank is closely monitoring the appreciation of the euro against the U.S. currency, which could potentially reduce inflation across the bloc, Villeroy said in a post on LinkedIn.

Trump Has Four Finalists to Run the Fed. None of Them Are Exactly What He Wants.

President Trump has said for months that he's made up his mind about who should lead the Federal Reserve. But with each passing week without an announcement, some people close to the process aren't sure any of his four finalists fully meet his requirements.

The difficulty: Trump wants something that may not exist-a new chair who will pursue his demands for lower interest rates while still commanding enough credibility on Wall Street and from his colleagues to deliver them.

Rep. Ilhan Omar Sprayed With Unknown Substance at Town Hall in Minneapolis

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar was sprayed with an unknown substance by a man at her monthly town hall meeting in Minneapolis on Tuesday evening, according to her office and video of the incident.

Omar's security detail and the Minneapolis Police Department immediately apprehended the individual, who rose from the audience and sprayed a liquid at the lawmaker. The suspect was later named as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak and was booked into Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of third-degree assault.

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January 28, 2026 06:18 ET (11:18 GMT)

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