January 28, 2026

Markets:

S&P 500 futures rose Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and earnings reports from major tech companies.

U.S.-listed shares of ASML jumped more than 5% after the semiconductor equipment giant reported record orders and issued strong 2026 guidance due to the artificial intelligence boom. Shares of storage infrastructure company Seagate Technology jumped more than 9% after its second-quarter earnings and revenue topped expectations, with CEO Dave Mosley citing strong demand for artificial intelligence data storage.

Beyond those earnings, China has given approval to ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent to buy Nvidia’s H200 AI chips, Reuters reported Wednesday. Nvidia
shares rose roughly 2%, as did fellow semiconductor names Advanced Micro Devices and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.

On the flip side, the U.S. dollar came under slight pressure again Wednesday, a day after the currency saw its worst day since last April. Its one-year fall now stands at more than 10%. Tuesday’s move comes on the heels of President Donald Trump declining to say that the currency had gone too far in its fall, believing that it’s “doing great.”

Later Wednesday, the Fed is widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate steady at a target range of 3.5% to 3.75%, but traders will be seeking hints on longer-term changes to monetary policy. Fed funds futures trading suggests two quarter percentage point cuts by the end of 2026, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Earnings from a slate of major technology companies are on deck. Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Tesla are set to post their quarterly financial results Wednesday after the closing bell. Apple will post its results on Thursday.

Portfolio:

Strong session yesterday as we head into today holding CONL, GME, and TSLL. 

QQQ: Here we go. We’re knocking on the door of a major breakout.
It’s Powell Day, and he’s the wildcard. With President Trump announcing a new Fed Chair lined up and signaling immediate rate cuts, the question becomes: does Powell lean extra hawkish today to push back short-term? Add in MSFT, META, TSLA, and NOW earnings after the close, and we’re sitting near Nasdaq ATHs. This setup has the potential to get very interesting and we’re ready.

One thing to stress today (and tomorrow): silence the noise. There will be plenty of it from every angle. We follow price, flow, and trend everything else is just background friction.  I truly feel sorry for those who swing based on headlines, talking heads, and social media.  You are always chasing it rather than being ready for the move.

Strong start to the year. And we’re just getting started.