MPC Morning Call 29th January 2026 – Fed Pauses, Mega cap earnings mixed, precious metals FLY!
Stocks finished largely flat overnight as the Fed kept rates on hold, MSFT disappointed, Meta & Tesla delighted and precious metals continued to skyrocket
WATCH ON YOUTUBE MPC Morning Call 29th January 2026 – Fed Pauses, Mega cap earnings mixed, precious metals FLY! Stocks finished largely flat overnight as the Fed kept rates on hold, MSFT disappointed, Meta & Tesla delighted and precious metals continued to skyrocket U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell confirmed that the Fed would keep interest rates unchanged, pausing after three consecutive 25-basis-point cuts. However, attention centered less on the rate decision and more on Powell’s refusal to discuss the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation into the renovation of a Fed building. Powell referred reporters to a prior statement in which he alleged the probe was politically motivated, suggesting it was retaliation for not aligning monetary policy with former President Donald Trump’s preferences. Powell’s term ends in May, and Trump has announced plans to name his replacement soon. This week’s market direction is being heavily influenced by corporate earnings, particularly from the “Magnificent Seven” technology giants. Tesla, Meta, and Microsoft are all set to report earnings on Wednesday, followed by Apple on Thursday. Strong results are expected to drive broader market sentiment, especially around artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Positive news from the chip sector added momentum: ASML posted record quarterly orders and upbeat revenue guidance, even while cutting jobs, while Texas Instruments and Seagate both surged on optimism tied to AI data center growth. AT&T also gained on a strong profit outlook, and Spotify made headlines for paying a record $11 billion to the music industry in 2025. In commodities, gold prices soared to an all-time high above $5,300 an ounce, fueled by safe-haven demand after the Fed’s announcement. Silver and platinum remained near record levels, underlining the bullish sentiment across precious metals. Oil prices also climbed, boosted by the same safe-haven trend and supply disruptions caused by severe winter storms in the U.S. Brent crude rose 1.4% to $67.49 a barrel, and WTI gained 1.6% to $63.42, extending Tuesday’s 3% rally. Output losses of up to 2 million barrels per day underscored the storm’s widespread impact on U.S. energy infrastructure. Earnings: Microsoft -4.18%: reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter results, with adjusted earnings of $4.14 per share and revenue of $81.3 billion—both above analyst estimates—but its shares fell over 4% in after-hours trading as Azure’s 39% cloud growth only narrowly beat forecasts. Despite record cloud revenue surpassing $50 billion and a 60% surge in GAAP net income, investor sentiment cooled amid concerns about intensifying AI competition from Google and Anthropic, rising OpenAI-related costs, and doubts over whether hefty AI investments will yield strong returns. Meta +7.85%: reported strong fourth-quarter earnings with revenue of $59.9 billion and EPS of $8.88, beating expectations, and forecast Q1 2026 revenue of $53.5 billion–$56.5 billion. The company plans to sharply raise annual capital expenditure to $115–$135 billion, up from $72 billion, driven by massive investments in AI infrastructure and data centers as it pursues “superintelligence.” Total expenses are projected to rise to as much as $169 billion, reflecting costs for infrastructure, cloud services, and higher depreciation. Meta is shifting focus from its struggling metaverse division, cutting 10% of Reality Labs staff, and partnering with nuclear power providers and cloud firms to expand capacity. Shares rose nearly 4% on the news. TSLA +2.75% Tesla reported fourth-quarter 2025 results that beat expectations, with adjusted earnings of about 0.50 dollars per share versus forecasts around 0.45, on revenue of roughly 24.9 billion dollars, slightly above consensus near 24.8 billion. The stock rose in after-hours trading as investors focused on stronger margins and Tesla’s push into artificial intelligence, including plans to scale its “Cortex” AI training clusters and a multi‑billion‑dollar investment commitment to Elon Musk’s xAI venture.
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