GoAI Market Wrap - 13th Jan

Stock Market

On Monday Eastern Time, the three major U.S. stock indices closed modestly higher, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones indices both hitting record highs. Driven by strength in tech stocks and retail giant Walmart's share price, investors largely downplayed concerns triggered by the U.S. Department of Justice's criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

 

Influenced by news of Powell's investigation, U.S. stocks opened lower. Reports that the Justice Department might press charges heightened market worries about damage to the Federal Reserve's independence.

 

Powell described the move as an "excuse" aimed at exerting greater influence on interest rate policy. Since taking office in January 2025, U.S. President Trump has been urging the Fed to implement significant rate cuts.

 

Peter Cardillo, Chief Market Economist at Spartan Capital Securities, said: "The news of the Justice Department's investigation into Powell has been signaled multiple times by Trump before, so I think the market's reaction has been relatively calm."

 

Jim Lebenthal, Chief Market Strategist at Cerity Partners, commented: "The impact of Powell's investigation is more likely to be felt in the long term rather than the short term. It won't change interest rates in the short term, nor will it immediately affect inflation."

 

The technology sector was one of the biggest gainers of the day. Walmart's stock surged 3%, providing support to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices. The retail giant had already transferred its stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange to Nasdaq last month.

 

Walmart will officially be added to the Nasdaq 100 index on January 20, a change expected to attract billions of dollars in inflows from passive index funds.

 

Cardillo added that investors' focus is shifting to the U.S. fourth-quarter earnings season. The earnings season will officially kick off on Tuesday, with major banks like JPMorgan Chase leading the way in reporting results.

 

Investors are awaiting the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report due on Tuesday, which could influence market expectations for the Fed's rate-cut outlook. Currently, the market anticipates at least two more 25-basis-point rate cuts by the Fed before the end of the year.

Global Markets

Trump: Impose 25% Tariffs on Iran's Trade Partners

 

U.S. President Trump posted on social media on the afternoon of the 12th, stating that any country conducting business with Iran will face 25% tariffs on all their business dealings with the U.S. The order takes effect immediately.

 

Trump: If Supreme Court Rules Against Tariff Policy, U.S. Can't Afford the Cost

 

U.S. President Trump posted on his social media platform "Truth Social" on January 12 local time, stating that if the U.S. Supreme Court rules against the U.S. on tariffs for any reason, the U.S. will face actual compensation amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars.

 

Trump said this does not include the "repayment" amounts for investments in building factories and equipment by the government and related companies to avoid paying tariffs. When these amounts add up, it will be trillions of dollars.

Company News

Apple Announces Major Siri Upgrade Betting on Gemini

 

Apple announced a partnership with Google to provide support for Apple's artificial intelligence features, including a major upgrade to Siri later this year.

 

Both tech giants confirmed the news on Monday. Google wrote in its official blog, "Apple has reached a multi-year cooperation agreement with Google, under which the next-generation Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google's Gemini models and cloud technology."

 

"These models will power future Apple Intelligence features, including the upcoming more personalized Siri."

 

Zuckerberg Launches Meta Compute Project, Plans to Build Tens of Gigawatts of AI Infrastructure by 2030

 

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently announced the formation of a new "top-level" initiative called "Meta Compute," which will enable the tech giant to build "tens of gigawatts" of artificial intelligence infrastructure by the end of 2030. On Monday local time, Zuckerberg posted on social media, "Today we are launching a new top-level strategic project called 'Meta Compute.'"

 

He explained: "Meta plans to build tens of gigawatts of computing infrastructure by the end of this decade (before the end of 2030), and expand to hundreds of gigawatts or more in the longer term. How we engineer, invest, and partner to build this infrastructure will become a core strategic advantage for the company." Zuckerberg said the project will be co-led by infrastructure head Santosh Janardhan and Daniel Gross.

 

Nvidia and Eli Lilly Jointly Invest $1 Billion to Build AI Drug Development Lab

 

Nvidia and U.S. pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly announced on Monday local time that the two parties will invest $1 billion over the next five years to build a joint research laboratory in the San Francisco Bay Area, aimed at accelerating the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the pharmaceutical industry.

 

According to Nvidia, the drug development lab will be located in Silicon Valley, bringing Lilly's lab capabilities closer to the AI innovation center, and the project is a joint investment by both parties. A Lilly spokesperson said in a statement that Lilly will work side-by-side with Nvidia employees to achieve "seamless collaboration and share world-class scientific and technical talent."

 

The company said the innovation lab will initially focus on drug development and AI model development. At the press conference, Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's Vice President of Healthcare, said the two parties are investing "incremental resources" into a new facility, with the specific location to be announced in March, for training AI models in the biotechnology field.

Forex & Commodities

International oil prices rose on January 12.

 

As of the close, the NYMEX WTI crude oil futures front-month contract rose $0.72 to close at $59.84 per barrel, up 1.22%. Gold and silver prices both hit new highs.

 

The COMEX gold futures front-month contract rose $107.90, up 2.40%, to $4608.8 per ounce. Spot gold rose $88.08, up 1.95%, to $4597.42 per ounce. The COMEX silver futures front-month contract rose $5.814, up 7.33%, to $85.155 per ounce.

 

Spot silver rose $5.24, up 6.56%, to $85.15 per ounce. The dollar index, which measures the dollar against six major currencies, fell 0.27% that day, closing at 98.862 in late forex trading.

Key Events

Gold and Silver Both Surge to New Highs; Fed Turmoil Triggers Safe-Haven Trades

 

On Monday (January 12) New York time, precious metal prices strengthened significantly, with spot gold and spot silver prices both breaking record highs, including silver's daily gain exceeding 7% at one point.

 

As of the close, spot silver rose over 6% to $85.15 per ounce, with an intraday gain of over 7% to $85.74; spot gold rose up to 2.4% to $4620.34 per ounce, both refreshing historical records set in late December 2025.

 

Analysts believe the most direct factors for precious metals and the dollar's movements are "the Trump administration intensifying its attacks on the Federal Reserve," which has led investors to reduce investments in U.S. assets.

 

The day before, Federal Reserve Chair Powell released a rare video statement confirming receipt of a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice, with federal prosecutors launching a criminal investigation against him. Powell called the threat of charges an "excuse" aimed at undermining the Fed's independence.

Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin rose 0.44% in 24 hours to $91,393.73.

 

Ethereum (ETH-USD) fell 0.44% to $3,102.46.

 

XRP (XRP-USD) rose 0.13%, BNB (BNB-USD) rose 0.44%, and Solana (SOL-USD) fell 0.97%.

 

Dogecoin (DOGE-USD) fell 0.95%, and Cardano (ADA-USD) fell 0.99%.

Key Events

"Wood Sister" Predicts: Trump Administration Will Soon Start Buying Bitcoin to Build National Reserves!

 

Wall Street star fund manager and Ark Invest head Cathie Wood's latest prediction is that U.S. President Trump will begin purchasing Bitcoin as a strategic reserve before the 2026 midterm elections to maintain political momentum and support from cryptocurrency voters.

 

In a recent interview, Wood said the U.S. federal government may soon start actually buying Bitcoin to advance the goal of a "national strategic Bitcoin reserve." The reserve plan was established by executive order early in Trump's reelection, with an initial target of holding 1 million BTC, so far mainly accumulated through seized assets.