Tue 13 Jan: After the Bell
Inflation Confirms Fed Pause as Earnings Season Opens on a Cautious Note. Your 5’ evening market wrap📄📈
ℹ️ Today’s performance tables & charts on the ‘Market Data’ post.
Good evening,
Tuesday marked the kick-off to the quarterly earnings season alongside the latest US CPI inflation release, but neither provided much upside impetus for markets. Most data and results were broadly in line to slightly disappointing, leaving equities trading sideways to modestly lower through the session. December inflation data reinforced expectations for a Fed rate pause, with the implied probability of no policy change at the late-January meeting rising to 97% from 82% a week ago.
Equity sector performance diverged: financials underperformed after Trump floated a 10% cap on credit-card interest rates, a proposal openly opposed by JPMorgan’s CEO, while energy led gains as oil prices extended their recovery following Trump’s cancellation of talks with Iranian leaders.
On the earnings front, JPMorgan’s results failed to impress, sending the stock down ~4% and weighing on the Dow Jones (-0.80%), despite the bank reporting strong underlying profitability.
In a significant geopolitical escalation tied to the ongoing crisis in Iran, Trump announced new 25% tariffs on any country that does business with Tehran, signalling sweeping economic pressure as part of the US response to violent protests and the regime’s crackdown. Trump, who has repeatedly used tariffs as a policy tool, emphasised the measure as “final and conclusive,” even as details on implementation and legal authority remain unclear. He also cancelled planned talks with Iranian officials, and urged Iranian protesters to continue their efforts, saying “help is on its way,” which heightened diplomatic tensions and underscored US support for the protest movement. More…
