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Wall Street soars at the end of a choppy week as chipmakers make a jump
Wall Street's major indexes were higher on Friday, as chipmakers took the lead in a volatile and busy week. It was also the beginning of the fourth quarter earnings season. Memory chip makers led the gains. Micron, Seagate Technology, and SanDisk all saw their shares rise between?2% to 7%. This is a continuation of their explosive growth in 2025. The iShares Semiconductor ETF rose 2.1% on the Friday, extending its rally of nearly 12% so far this season, which has easily beaten Nasdaq's 1.2% gain. This shows investor confidence in AI-driven chip demand. Even after S&P 500 and Dow set new records on Monday, U.S. stock prices were limping towards modest weekly losses. The S&P is now just 30 points short of the 7,000-point mark - an?mark analysts have deemed as a possible pocket of technical resistance. The market was weighed down by concerns over the impact of a proposed cap on credit card rates for a year at 10%, despite good quarterly results from major U.S. Banks. "Banks have set up this week to show that consumers are still spending money and there is nothing to worry about. Jason Barsema of Halo Investing said that they will watch to see if this translates into increased consumption. The markets will be closed on Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. However, the earnings season will pick up next week, with Netflix, Johnson & Johnson, and Intel all due to release their results. 9:35 am The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 67.35, or 0.14 %, to 49.509.79. The S&P 500 rose 18.67, or 0.27 %, to 6,963.14, and the Nasdaq Composite added 114.46, or 0.49 %, to 23644.48. The Defensive Sectors Lead Weekly Gains The top three sectors for weekly gains were consumer staples, utilities and real estate - all considered to be defensive sectors. Financials, on the other hand, plummeted and were heading for their worst weekly performance since October. This defensive move comes at a time when uncertainty has been raised about the Federal Reserve's independent after Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, said that the Justice Department had opened a criminal probe into him on Sunday. Kevin Hassett, White House advisor, tried to calm the controversy by dismissing the investigation and saying that he was expecting "nothing here." This week, the S&P 600 index for mid-cap stocks and the Russell 2000 index for small-cap stocks both saw gains of about 2%. A series of important economic data has reinforced the bets on a Fed rate pause. The remarks of Fed Governors Michelle Bowman & Philip Jefferson will provide a 'clue on voting members thinking before the U.S. Central Bank enters its blackout phase ahead of its policy meeting scheduled for January 27-28. State Street, among other stocks fell 2.7% following a decline in the fourth-quarter profits. After a report stated that U.S. States experiencing a rapid increase in data center construction would sign an agreement to reduce rising electricity prices with the Trump Administration, independent power producers fell. Talen Energy fell 9.6% while Constellation Energy, Vistra and Vistra each dropped over 7%. On the NYSE, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a ratio of 1.44 to 1 and by a ratio of 1.17 to 1 on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 recorded 23 new 52-week lows and six new highs. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite registered 46 new highs with 28 new lows. Medha Singh in Bengaluru and Pranav Kashyap, Shinjini Gianguli and Maju Sam edited the article.
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Unexpectedly, US manufacturing output increased in December
U.S. Factory Production unexpectedly increased in December amid a surge of primary metals production that offset a decline in motor vehicle assembly plants. However, activity contracted in the 4th?quarter due to challenges from import tariffs. The Federal Reserve announced on Friday that manufacturing?output? rose 0.2% in December after a 0.3% increase, which was upwardly revised. Economists surveyed by forecasted that production in the 10.1% sector would fall 0.2%, after an unchanged reading for November. In December, the production at factories grew by 2.0% year-over-year. It dropped by 0.7% annually in the fourth quarter, after increasing at a 2.8% rate in the third. The manufacturing sector has been hit by President Donald Trump’s import duties. He has justified them as necessary to restore the country's long-diminished industrial base. The rest of the manufacturing sector has been struggling, losing 68,000 jobs by 2025. Economists argue that a manufacturing revival is impossible due to structural problems, such as a shortage of workers. The tax cuts of Trump were expected to have a positive impact on the economy this year. Production of primary metals grew by 2.4%. Electrical equipment, appliances, and components were all up by a significant amount. Miscellaneous transportation was also up. Motor vehicle production fell 1.1% for the fourth consecutive month. Motor vehicle output fell In December, the rate of inflation was 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. The mining output dropped?0.7% in January after recovering 1.7% the previous month. The cold temperatures increased demand for heating and boosted utilities production by 2.6%. Utility output fell by 0.3% in the month of November. The overall industrial production rose by 0.4% following a similar increase in November. In December, industrial production increased by 2.0% year-over-year. The fourth quarter saw a growth of 0.7%. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing and proofreading by Andrea Ricci
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Caltagirone, a major MPS investor, says that there was no conflict with Lovaglio as CEO
Grouppo Caltagirone is a major shareholder in Monte Dei Paschi di Siena. It said that speculations about a conflict with?CEO Luigi Lovaglio were misplaced. The board was simply discussing the bank's governance and strategy. Lovaglio, 70, last year led Monte dei Paschi (MPS) to acquire bigger rival Mediobanca as consolidation swept Italy's banking sector. This deal increased the influence of two key investors: Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, the construction tycoon and Delfin Holdings, the holding company of Del Vecchio Family. Both are major MPS investors, and they also own stakes in Italy's biggest insurer Generali. Bankers believe that with MPS at the core of Italy's finance system, the future of the sector will depend on the decisions made about its leadership. Lovaglio wants a new mandate from the MPS Board?in April. However, several sources have said in recent months that the situation is complicated by a probe being conducted by the Milan prosecutors into the Mediobanca case. MPS has given its full support to the CEO who is being investigated along with Caltagirone Chairman Francesco Milleri and Delfin Chairman Francesco Milleri over an alleged secret agreement to control Mediobanca through MPS. The three parties have all denied wrongdoing, and the Italian market regulator has ruled out an unreported agreement. Grouppo Caltagirone commented on Friday, in response to a Financial Times article about a conflict between MPS CEO and Caltagirone. They said that a debate within the company over a strategic planning?requested by regulators? and board renewal shouldn't be interpreted as a reflection of the role played by a large shareholder. It said that "linking this boardroom conversation to the role played by a major shareholder or Mediobanca’s stake in Generali is an opportunistic interpretation." Delfin, which backed Lovaglio on Friday, said it was in support of the bank's management and that it had no plans to sell its MPS shares at this time. Delfin holds 17.5% and Caltagirone 10% of MPS. They joined as Italy, who rescued MPS by acquiring a 68% share in 2017, reduced its holding to below 5%. Alessandro Caltagirone, son of Caltagirone and Elena De Simone - a director for Caltagirone SpA - were appointed to the board after the Treasury reduced their stake. Reporting by Valentina Z and Giuseppe Fonte. Jane Merriman edited the article.
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Andy Home: Tin price bubble is a source of trouble and toil for the global industry
London and Shanghai markets have seen a surge in tin prices, which are now at all-time highs. According to the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, a state-backed organization, this rally is "unreasonable". Last month, it warned all parties to "avoid following trends blindly". Beijing's warning hasn't stopped Chinese investors from chasing prices higher and higher. On Thursday, the volume of trading in the tin contract at Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE), exceeded one million metric tons. This is more than double the annual global physical consumption. Tin is in a clear speculative boom, and it will burst as soon as the trend changes. The mismatch between physical market size and interest in investing foreshadows future volatility. Not just for tin. The current tidal waves of investor purchases washing through the industrial-metals sector may be a sign for other metal supply chain. EXUBERANCE IRRATIONALE Since several months, the London Metal Exchange (LME), tin contract has been bubbling. However, this week it exploded as Chinese investors brought with them their financial power to the rally. On Tuesday, LME's three-month metal surpassed the previous price peak of March 2022 at $51,000 per ton and soared to $54,760 by Wednesday. It is the lack of supply that drives this narrative. Tin's structural issues with supply are well-known. Global mine production is concentrated in a few countries, and heavily dependent on frontier jurisdictions like the Democratic Republic of Congo or the semi-autonomous Wa State of Myanmar. This rally is not at the right time. The tin supply situation has improved in recent months. Since the M23 insurgency was in danger of overrunning the Congo's mine Bisie a year earlier, the threat has diminished. Alphamin Resources, the mine operator, has raised its annual production forecast after a strong performance in the third quarter. After a long absence, the giant Man Maw Mine in Myanmar has also begun to show signs of renewed productivity. China imported 7,190 tonnes of tin-based raw materials from Myanmar in November. This was the highest monthly total since August 2024. According to the Indonesia Tin Exporters Association, Indonesia will continue to crackdown on illegal mining, but the official sector production quotas are expected to increase from 53,000 tones in 2025 to 60 000 tons in 2026. There is no shortage of refined tin at the moment. Metal producers and traders have contributed significant quantities of metal to the price rally. The combined stocks of the LME and ShFE rose from 11,000 tones at the end October to more than 19,000 tons. Inventory was less than 5,000 tons at the previous peak of 2022. When China's metals regulator describes the tin price's recent surge as "unreasonable", they may be right. LIQUIDITY MISMATCH Paraphrasing economist John Maynard Keynes: a market may remain "unreasonable", longer than you are able to remain solvent. Investors can have a large impact on the price, especially if you're dealing with a small-scale market like tin. Shanghai is a clear example of this. China's commodities markets have been characterized by such speculative booms for a long time. It was alumina last year. Chinese authorities are in a well-honed firefighting mode. They have raised trading margins and, in particular, the cost of intraday transactions, while limiting positions for non-members. Tin's story of limited supply and increasing use as a semiconductor-solder has not only attracted the Chinese. Over the past few years, the number of funds participating in the London Tin Market has steadily increased. The investment fund's long position reached a record high of 2,887 contracts in late 2021 or early 2022 when tin prices were at their highest. This is equivalent to 14,435 tonnes. The investment fund long position reached a record of 5,753 contracts or 28,765 tonnes at one point last month. The liquidity rush has increased volatility in a market that is known for its wild price swings. Futures frenzy is causing real problems in the supply chain, as consumers and producers struggle to cover their margins. When does price risk take precedence over liquidity risk? How long can you "remain solvent"? FUNDS AND FUNDAMENTALS Tin was not a popular metal a few years back. Most fund managers did not invest in tin because the market was too small both for physical volume and futures trading. This is changing, as the world begins to realize the centrality of tin in the Internet of Things. No circuit boards, no internet. In our hyper-connected, connected world, there is very little more. The result is that too much money floods a market unprepared to handle it. CNMIA is the voice of the world's biggest refined tin producers and users. It is very clear on the dangers posed to the present exuberance. The rapid price rise driven by funds has diverged from industry fundamentals and magnified market risks, harming the global chain of industry. Tin's dramatic story may be a timely reminder for other metals in demand, such as copper, as fund money floods the industrial metals sector in search of other hard assets than gold and silver. Andy Home is an author and columnist. The opinions expressed in this column are Andy Home's. Open Interest (ROI), a data-driven, thought-provoking commentary on the markets and finance. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X and X.
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Retraction: Correction Regarding MT Autan
On November 10, 2025, Offshore Engineer published an article titled “Sources say that India’s HMEL has issued a prompt tender to supply naphtha as Russian supplies are hit.” The article incorrectly stated that the vessel MT Autan was sanctioned by the European Union and the United Kingdom. This statement was inaccurate. Offshore Engineer Energy News hereby retracts that statement and confirms that the MT Autan is not sanctioned by the European Union, the United Kingdom, or any other authority. The article containing the incorrect statement has been removed from our website. We expressly apologize to Autan Shipping Limited for the error. Offshore Engineer/ Energy News Jan 16, 2025
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Israeli soldiers kill a Palestinian teenager in West Bank
The Israeli military confirmed a Palestinian boy, 14, was killed by Israeli soldiers after he hurled a rock at them. Officials from the Palestinian Authority have not made any further comments about the deadly incident that occurred in the village of Al-Mughayyir. The official Palestinian news agency,?WAFA, reported that the teen died during an Israeli military raid which led to confrontations. The Israeli military claimed that its forces were called to the region after receiving reports that Palestinians were 'throwing stones at Israelis, and blocking a highway with burning tires. The military claimed that the soldiers shot warning shots to try and repel the person who ran at them with a stone, then shot him and killed him in order to eliminate the threat. The violence in the West Bank has increased over the past year. Israeli settlers have intensified their attacks on Palestinians, and the military has tightened restrictions for movement in several cities. Palestinians have also attacked Israeli soldiers and civilians in some cases with deadly results.
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A new map shows hidden landscapes beneath Antarctica's ice sheets
Scientists have created the most detailed map of the terrain beneath the vast ice sheets covering Antarctica. They discovered an exuberant landscape with mountains, canyons valleys, and plains. Researchers used high-resolution satellite images and a technique called ice flow perturbation analysis to map the entire continent, including parts that had never been explored before. A better understanding of the subglacial landscape could help forecast the climate-related retreat in Antarctica's Ice Sheet. Research has shown that rough terrain, such as jagged mountaintops and hillsides, can slow the retreat. The study, published in the journal Science, was led by Robert Bingham, a glaciologist at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Researchers were able map subglacial terrains with unprecedented accuracy. They identified, for example, more than 30,000 previously unknown hills. These are defined as terrain protuberances that measure at least 50 meters (165 feet). Antarctica is about 40 percent larger than Europe and 50 percent larger than the United States. It also covers roughly half of Africa. In each case, these continents have a variety of landscapes, ranging from high mountain ranges to vast flat plains. Bingham stated that the hidden landscape of Antarctica contains these vast extremes. It isn't boring. The Antarctic Ice Sheet, the largest mass of ice on Earth, holds 70% of the freshwater in the world. The average thickness of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is about 1.3 miles (2 km) with a maximum thickness around 3 miles (4 km). Antarctica was not always covered in ice. The subglacial features were first sculpted by the continent before it acquired its icy cover more than 34 millions years ago, before they were further modified by the Dynamic Ice Sheet. Antarctica was once connected to South America, but it separated because of a plate tectonics process that involves the gradual movement on Earth's surface of continent-sized plates. The map showed a landscape with a variety of topographical features. "Perhaps the type of landscape many people may not be familiar with is 'plateaus divided by deep-carved valleys. This is a familiar landscape for Scots. It is also common in Scandinavia, northern Canada, and Greenland. The fact that our method has revealed a landscape across Antarctica that matches these landscapes so well gives us great confidence in the new map," Bingham explained. Researchers noted that the surface of Mars had been better mapped until now than the subglacial terrain in Antarctica. Scientists traditionally map the subglacial terrain using radar equipment mounted on planes or towed behind snowmobiles. According to Helen Ockenden, glaciologist and lead author at the Institut des Geosciences de l'Environnement, France. Ockenden stated that "these surveys often have gaps of up to 150 miles (93 km) and as much as 5 km (3.1miles) between them." Ockenden stated that the method used in the new study is "really exciting" because it allows us combine the mathematics behind how the ice moves with high-resolution observations of the surface of the ice. This allows us to determine what the landscape under the ice must look like across the entire continent, even in those survey gaps. We can now see how the various landscape features are connected. Researchers hope that the map will inform models used to predict future sea level rise, as well as forecasts made by the IPCC (the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), which provides data to governments to help shape climate-related policy. Bingham said, "We now can also better identify where Antarctica requires more detailed field surveys and where it doesn't."
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The world shares are nearing record highs due to geopolitical tensions and AI optimism
As international tensions simmered on Friday, global stocks hovered around record highs. The?dollar also held close to a six-week peak as traders reduced bets about Federal Reserve interest rate reductions. Gold, the safe-haven, was little changed. Oil prices, however, rebounded after a previous decline, as U.S. president Donald Trump, who had earlier threatened intervention, adopted a "wait-and-see" attitude toward Iran. Since the beginning of the year, the markets have been focusing on international politics following Trump's actions in Venezuela and threats to takeover Greenland. Michael Brown, Senior Research Strategist at Pepperstone said: "Although we seem to have dialled down the likelihood of U.S. Intervention in the Middle East, I don't believe we can completely rule it out." US PUBLIC HOLIDAY CURBS MARKET ACTIVITY Brown stated that market participants might lack confidence ahead of Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. Day U.S. holiday. He said: "I would not be confident if I were running a long-risk book or short-crude for a three-day holiday with Middle East tensions this high." After reaching a record-high on Thursday, the pan-European Stoxx 600 Index was down 0.1%. The Stoxx 600 index is on track to finish the fifth week in a row in 'positive territory,' extending gains from the end of the year 2025 into this new year. The CAC 40 in France was down 0.7%, lagging behind regional peers due to political uncertainty. French government postponed Friday talks on its budget for 2026 because lawmakers failed to reach an agreement. U.S. Stock Futures point to a strong start on Wall Street. A week of earnings will conclude with State Street's results. In 'Asia', indexes dominated by tech in Taiwan and South 'Korea reached all-time highs as stellar results from Taiwanese semiconductor maker TSMC revived AI trade. U.S.-Taiwan trade agreement signed on Thursday reduces tariffs for many semiconductor exports and directs investment towards U.S. tech industry. It could also anger China. Tony Sycamore is a market analyst for IG. He said, "I think with the TSMC's report yesterday sounding pretty solid and optimistic, it provided a much needed shot in the arms for those AI names that have struggled on Wall Street over the past few months." The U.S. premarket Trading showed that semiconductor stocks were on course to extend their AI fueled rally, as Intel and Nvidia began to edge up. TRADERS WATCH FOR YEN INTERVENTION The yen has been the focus of attention on the currency markets since Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Catayama stated that Tokyo would not exclude any options for countering excessive volatility in foreign exchange, including coordinated intervention with the United States. Her comments boosted the yen a little. After a report that stated some Bank of Japan policymakers are open to raising interest rates earlier than the markets expected, April is a possibility. Dollar was down by 0.3% last time at around 158yen. Investors are betting that a snap Japanese election could be held as early as next month. This would lead to a fiscal stimulus by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Dollar hovers 'near a 6-week high following U.S. Economic releases this week, including data showing that the number of Americans who filed new unemployment benefit applications unexpectedly dropped last week. The dollar was at 99.21 against a basket currency, which is close to its peak of 99.493 on Thursday, its highest level since early December. The markets have priced in 20% of a Fed rate reduction in March. This is down from 50% about a month earlier. Prices on the oil market rose slightly, as supply risk remained a focus despite the decreasing likelihood of an American military strike against Iran. Brent crude and U.S. West Texas Intermediate traded at roughly 1.2% higher. Gold spot was stable at $4,611 per ounce and recouped some of its earlier losses. (Reporting from Sophie Kiderlin and Rae Wee, in London; editing by Dhara Ranasinghe & Andrew Heavens).
S&P 500 and Nasdaq are preparing for higher openings as chipmakers make gains at the end of a choppy week
S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Jones are set to open higher on Friday. Chipmakers have taken the lead in a volatile market week which also marked the start of fourth-quarter earnings.
Memory chipmakers have led the way, with Micron Western Digital Seagate Technology, and SanDisk up between 3.6% and 5.0%, extending their explosive gains in 2025.
The iShares Semiconductor ETF rose 1.8% on the Friday, extending its rally of nearly 12% so far this season, which has easily beaten Nasdaq's 1.2% gain. This shows investor confidence in AI-driven chip demand, even as money is shifting out of heavyweight tech companies into undervalued areas like small caps, industrials and materials stocks.
Even after the S&P and Dow closed at new records on Monday, U.S. stock prices were limping towards modest weekly losses. The S&P 500 is hovering about 60 points short of the 7,000-point mark - which analysts have identified as a possible pocket of technical resistance.
The fear of the potential fallout from a proposed cap on credit card rates for a year at 10% has weighed down on shares in lenders and the broader markets despite good quarterly results by big U.S. Banks.
The financial sector is heading for its worst week in October.
"Banks have set up this week to show that consumers are still spending money and there is nothing to worry about." "We will see if this is translating into more consumption," said Jason Barsema.
The markets will be closed on Monday in honor of 'Martin Luther King Jr. Day. But the earnings season is set to pick up next week, with Netflix, Johnson & Johnson, and Intel all due to release their results.
At 8:36 am. At 8:36 a.m. ET, Dow E Minis were down 8 points or 0.02%. S&P 500 E Minis were down 8.5 points or 0.12%. Nasdaq E Minis were 114 points or 0.44% higher.
Concerns about threats to the Federal Reserve’s independence have resurfaced after Jerome Powell announced on Sunday that the Justice Department has opened a criminal probe into him.
The Fed's pause in rate hikes was reinforced by a series of economic indicators released this week. LSEG data shows that traders are betting on the Fed to hold rates at this month's rate meeting. They have priced in a quarter point rate cut in July.
Linh Tran is a senior analyst at XS.com. She said that the S&P 500 appeared to be sustaining an upward trend, but in a cautious way.
"The most plausible scenario is a sideways trend with a cautiously upward bias." Further gains will depend on the growth of corporate earnings.
The remarks of Fed Governors Michelle Bowman & Philip Jefferson will provide clues as to what voting members are thinking ahead of the U.S. Central Bank's January 27-28 meeting.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, among other stocks fell nearly 5% following the U.S. trucking company's report of a decline in revenue for its last quarter.
PNC Financial rose 4.6% ?after beating fourth-quarter revenue estimates.
State Street fell 3% following the announcement of a decline in profit for the fourth quarter.
Independent power producers fell after a report stated that U.S. States experiencing a rapid expansion of data center construction would sign an agreement to reduce rising electricity costs with the Trump Administration.
Constellation Energy and Vistra both fell by about 4% each.
The U.S. Industrial Production data for December will be released later today. Reporting by Medha and Pranav Kashyap from Bengaluru, editing by Shinjini Ganuli and Maju Sam
(source: Reuters)