4:07pm: Record day for the S&P 500
Wall Street finished the day mixed, with UnitedHealth dragging the Dow Jones 0.8% lower to 49,003 points. Optimism about Big Tech earnings this week saw the Nasdaq add 0.9% at 23,817 points, while the S&P 500 added 0.4% at 6,978 points – a fresh record for the index.
3:40pm: Proactive news headlines
- M2i Global Inc (OTC:MTWO) and Volato Group said their proposed merger supports recent U.S. policy efforts to secure domestic and allied supply chains for processed critical minerals amid national security concerns.
- Montero Mining and Exploration Ltd (TSX-V:MON, OTC:MXTRF) reported that longtime director and audit committee chair Andrew Thomson has stepped down to pursue other professional opportunities.
- Virtuix Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:VTIX) began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker VTIX, marking a milestone as the company seeks to scale its omni-directional treadmill technology across consumer, enterprise and defense markets.
- Lisata Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:LSTA, FRA:8NE) terminated its licensing and collaboration agreement with Qilu Pharmaceutical, regaining full rights to its cancer drug candidate certepetide in Greater China.
- Nextech3D.AI (CSE:NTAR, OTCQX:NEXCF, FRA:1SS)launched Nextech Credit, a dollar-denominated enterprise credit system that can be used across its portfolio of AI-powered event and engagement platforms.
2:35pm: Market movers
- Pinterest Inc (NYSE:PINS) shares slid nearly 10% after the company announced plans to lay off under 15% of its workforce and shrink office space as part of a restructuring to speed up its shift toward artificial intelligence.
- JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) fell more than 5% after JetBlue reported a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss, pressured by higher costs and weaker demand.
- General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) posted mixed fourth-quarter results, beating earnings expectations on an adjusted basis but reporting a large net loss due to one-time charges related to its electric vehicle strategy.
- UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH) shares dropped nearly 17% after UnitedHealth issued weak 2026 guidance, forecasting revenue above $439 billion that implies a year-over-year decline.
1:30pm: Consumer picture still mixed
More consumer confidence reaction:
"The picture for the consumer remains very mixed, with the top earners benefiting from the wealth effect while the bottom 60% of the income distribution is being negatively impacted by policy changes including shifting tariffs, sticky inflation, and housing affordability," said Eric Teal, chief investment officer for Comerica.
"Tighter immigration policies should start to boost wages in certain industries, and we remain cautiously optimistic on the US consumer as tax benefits should be a tailwind in early 2026.
12:25pm: Mag 7 earnings on deck
The US earnings season kicks off this week with the first reports from the “Magnificent 7” tech giants—Meta, Microsoft, Tesla, and Apple—whose results could shape the S&P 500’s performance. Despite their outsized role in driving past index gains, the group has lagged the broader market so far in 2026, as commodities like gold and silver have drawn investor attention amid geopolitical tensions and concerns over the U.S. dollar.
Analysts expect the Magnificent 7 to report blended earnings growth of more than 20% for the quarter, compared with 4.1% for the rest of the S&P 500. Microsoft and Meta will be closely watched for the returns on their heavy AI investments, while Tesla’s focus will be on driverless car technology and Optimus robots. Apple is expected to deliver strong seasonal sales, though rising memory costs could compress margins. Market observers say any misstep by these mega-cap techs could weigh heavily on the index.
11:30am: USD hits four-month low
The US dollar slid to a four-month low on Monday as investors weighed political uncertainty, potential US-Japan currency intervention, and growing fiscal and geopolitical risks. At the same time, gold surged past $5,000 a troy ounce, reflecting a rotation into hard assets.
“Markets are reacting to speculation over joint US-Japan currency intervention, fiscal uncertainty, and geopolitical instability,” said Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group. “Gold breaking $5,000 and the dollar weakening at the same time signal a reassessment of US political and policy risk.”
The drop in the greenback comes as the Federal Reserve begins its two-day policy meeting. No rate changes are expected, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell likely to signal that policymakers will monitor economic data before further cuts.
“The Fed retains credibility under Powell because he resists political pressure,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote. “Once he is gone, that credibility could be questioned, which could further support precious metals.”
Investors are also factoring in potential government shutdowns and broader geopolitical tensions, challenging the notion that the dollar automatically strengthens in periods of uncertainty. Analysts say policy unpredictability and fiscal pressures are encouraging portfolio diversification away from dollar-heavy assets.
10:45am: Consumer confidence drops
US consumer confidence dropped sharply in January, hitting its lowest level in more than a decade, as Americans grew more pessimistic about the economy and labor market. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell 9.7 points to 84.5 from an upwardly revised 94.2 in December, missing expectations of 91.
The steep decline is largely tied to weakening labor conditions. The labor differential—the gap between those reporting plenty of jobs versus those saying jobs are hard to get—fell to its lowest level outside of the pandemic since 2016. Consumers also expect business conditions to worsen or remain flat over the next six months.
“Given this latest data, expect the unemployment rate to rise,” said Jeffrey Roach, Chief Economist at LPL Financial. “My expectation is the domestic economy could approach 4.6% unemployment in Q2 with upside risks later in the year. This will weigh on retail sales in these coming months.”
Housing demand has softened for both new and existing homes, although interest in high-ticket household items has remained stable. Roach noted the data points to a likely rise in unemployment, projecting the US rate could approach 4.6% in the second quarter, which may weigh on retail sales in the months ahead.
9.55am: Dow dragged down by UnitedHealth
It's a mixed start on Wall Street, but mainly down to one or two rogue moves.
The Dow Jones opened 343 points or 0.7% lower, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 0.3% and 0.6%.
An 18% tumble for UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH) is the cause of the Dow's decline, as the healthcare insurer issued weak guidance.
The company expects revenue to drop 2% from the prior year due to efforts to “right-size” the business.
Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) also fell, down 1.3%, despite beating expectations for fourth quarter results, driven by increased commercial aircraft deliveries and a gain tied to the sale of a business unit.
The aerospace manufacturer's shares traded down amid concerns over sustainable profitability.
Apple and Microsoft were top of the Dow leaderboard, up 1.95% and 1.3%.
8.15am: Dow futures down but Nasdaq up
US stock futures were mixed, ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street, as the stream of corporate earnings builds up.
Dow Jones futures were down 0.5%, but those for the S&P 500 were up 0.2% and for the Nasdaq 0.6%.
The day before, the Dow had led the way, climbing 314 points or 0.6% to finish at 49,412, while the S&P added 0.5% to close at 6,950 and the Nasdaq edged up 0.4% to 23,601.
Small caps lagged, with the Russell 2000 slipping 0.4%.
Today's earnings reporters include JetBlue Airways, United Parcel Service, Boeing, NextEra Energy, RTX Corporation, UnitedHealth Group, Northrop Grumman, General Motors, Kimberly-Clark, Union Pacific, Seagate Technology and Texas Instruments.
The latter two a particularly important for the wider market, said analyst Kenny Polcari at Slatestone Wealth. "Together, they’ll help shape tech risk appetite into the end of the week."
Seagate, up 30% so far in 2026 and 252% over the past year, is "a clean proxy for data-infrastructure and storage demand – cloud capex and enterprise trends show up there early," he said.
"Texas Instruments gives us a read on industrial, auto, and analog demand beyond pure AI."
Market analyst Joshua Mahony at Scope Markets said traders stateside were "waking up to the prospect of a fresh post-earnings surge" for big tech stocks this week.
"Coming at a time where the gains seen in the US stock market have been primarily driven by the remaining 493, the Mag7 market cap shares of the S&P 500 has dropped from 33% to 31% over the past two-months," Mahony said.
"This is undoubtedly a healthy development and eases concerns that these tech giants are set to tumble on the notion that bumper profits have already been priced in ahead of time.
"There is a hope that the fact that big tech has been largely flying under the radar of late means we are set for a bump higher for the likes of Microsoft, Meta, Tesla, and Apple when they report over the coming days."
The US dollar continues to find itself on the back foot, with the DXY index falling into a four-month low yesterday.
Mahony says faith in the dollar as the primary source of safety "appears to have disappeared under Trump", while with the US and Japan gearing up to potentially intervene to support the yen, with the Fed selling dollars to buy the yen, "it comes as no surprise to see the likes of gold and the Swiss Franc provide the two reliable havens right now".