GoAI Market Wrap - 7th Jan

Stock Market

U.S. major indices all closed higher Tuesday Eastern Time, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both hitting new record highs.

 

Led by strong gains in semiconductors amid the AI-driven memory chip shortage and price surge, the sector put in a standout performance, with Micron leading the pack.

 

Baird investment strategist Ross Mayfield said: “Tech stocks took a brief breather at the end of last year, but I don’t think anyone is questioning that artificial intelligence is a transformative technology. We’re seeing chip stocks take the lead, which is exactly what we expected, while cyclical rotation continues across the market.”

 

Mayfield noted: “You can see the AI theme and tech stocks staying strong, while other cyclical sectors are also performing well. This kind of setup typically shows up when the economy is running hot—in 2026, rate cut expectations, massive fiscal stimulus, and rising AI enthusiasm could together push the economy into overdrive territory.”

 

Investors largely shrugged off geopolitical risks from the weekend U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Maduro, betting the move could open doors for U.S. firms to access Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. Energy stocks, however, pulled back after Monday’s big rally, with ExxonMobil down 3.4% and Chevron off 4.5%.

 

Argent Capital portfolio manager Jed Ellerbroek said: “I think the big tech names are heading into a very strong earnings season. The capex guidance we’re hearing is likely to get raised again.”

 

As Q4 earnings season approaches, Wall Street valuations remain relatively elevated. The S&P 500’s forward P/E is around 22x—down slightly from 23x in November but still above the five-year average of 19x.

 

On the Fed front, Richmond Fed President Barkin reiterated caution on further rate cuts, while Governor Milan called for more aggressive easing.

Global Hotspots

Trump administration discussing options for acquiring Greenland, including military means  

 

On January 6 local time, a senior U.S. official said President Trump and his team are exploring multiple ways to acquire Greenland, including buying it from Denmark, a free association agreement, or even military options.

 

The official said Trump wants to complete the acquisition during his term and that the issue “won’t go away.” The White House views Greenland as a national security priority, despite opposition from some NATO leaders, and Trump is actively seeking a deal.

 

Trump: If we lose midterms, I could be impeached  

 

On January 6 local time, President Trump said Republicans must win this year’s congressional midterms or Democrats could impeach him.

 

Speaking at a House Republican meeting in Washington, Trump said: “You have to win the midterms, because if we lose, they’ll find a reason to impeach me.”

Company News

xAI says it raised $20 billion in Series E  

 

xAI oversubscribed its Series E, originally targeting $15 billion but closing at $20 billion. Participants included Fidelity and Qatar Investment Authority. Strategic investors Nvidia and Cisco continued support for rapid compute infrastructure expansion and building the world’s largest GPU cluster.

 

xAI said Grok 5 is in testing, and they’re focused on innovative consumer and enterprise products leveraging Grok, Colossus, and X. The fresh capital will accelerate global infrastructure and transformative AI product development/deployment.

 

Nvidia CFO: Revenue outlook even more optimistic  

 

Nvidia CFO Colette Kress said demand strength has made the company’s already upbeat October revenue guidance even more optimistic. Kress noted rising customer interest since the forecast.

 

In October, Nvidia projected ~$500 billion in current and future data center chip revenue by end-2026. “The $500 billion number has definitely gotten bigger,” Kress said.

 

Smart glasses demand far exceeds expectations! Meta pauses international expansion  

 

In Tuesday’s announcement, Meta said Ray-Ban Meta Display glasses, launched last fall, saw overwhelming demand, with waitlists extending well into 2026.

 

Due to unprecedented demand and limited capacity, the company is pausing planned early-2026 international expansion (UK, France, Italy, Canada) to prioritize U.S. orders and reassess global supply/launch strategy.

 

Chevron books 11 tankers for Venezuela  

 

Chevron-chartered vessels are heading to Venezuela. After the U.S. took control of President Maduro, Chevron became the country’s sole oil exporter. Data shows at least 11 Chevron tankers scheduled this month for government-controlled Jose and Bajo Grande ports—preliminary, up from 9 in December and the highest since October’s 12.

 

The Houston-based firm operates under U.S. Treasury license, the only Western company allowed to extract and export Venezuelan crude amid sanctions.

Forex & Commodities  

COMEX gold futures continuous contract +$54.20 (+1.22%) to $4,505.70/oz.  

 

COMEX silver futures continuous contract +$4.563 (+5.95%) to $81.22/oz.  

 

Spot silver +$4.64 (+6.06%) to $81.25/oz. COMEX platinum futures continuous contract +$170.8 (+7.47%) to $2,456/oz. COMEX palladium futures continuous contract +$126.4 (+7.16%) to $1,892/oz. LME nickel +$1,427 (+8.39%) to $18,430/ton.  

 

Oil fell January 6. WTI continuous contract −$1.35 to $56.97/barrel (−2.31%).

Key Events  

Morgan Stanley forecasts gold at $4,800/oz in Q4 2026  

 

Morgan Stanley predicts gold reaching $4,800/oz in Q4 2026, topping last year’s record, driven by falling rates, Fed leadership changes, and sustained central bank/fund buying.

Cryptocurrency 

Bitcoin −1.13% to $92,765.08.  

 

Ethereum +1.51% to $3,267.02.  

 

XRP −3.90%, BNB +0.17%, Solana +1.86%, Dogecoin −2.52%, Cardano −2.16%.

Crypto Key Event  

Coinbase: Quantum computers could compromise 6.51M Bitcoin, one-third of total supply  

 

Coinbase’s global head of investment research warned quantum computing poses a structural long-term risk to Bitcoin security, with roughly one-third of circulating supply potentially vulnerable due to exposed public keys.  

 

David Duong said the “quantum threat” isn’t imminent but approaching faster than assumed. Growing concern is surfacing in regulatory guidance and institutional disclosures, shifting from theoretical to strategic.