Global markets navigated a week shaped by shifting rate expectations, geopolitical manoeuvring and a heavy slate of corporate earnings, with investors balancing resilient company performance against rising macro and policy risks.
All the top moves, shakes, and red-hot takes from Azzet's editorial team are right here in your weekly business wrap every Friday (30 January, 2026).
Monday was quiet due to a public holiday in Australia, but the rest of the week more than made up for it:
Commodities, chips and geopolitics set the tone
Trading resumed on Tuesday with a strong focus on resources and strategic supply chains. Optimism around the longer-term commodities cycle resurfaced amid renewed investor appetite for materials tied to electrification and energy transition themes. That theme dovetailed with a surge in interest in critical minerals, underlining Washington’s push to secure domestic supply.
Energy markets added to inflation concerns, with energy prices spiking as a severe winter storm swept across the United States, triggering widespread energy disruptions.
In technology, the AI arms race remained central as Microsoft revealed Maia 200 AI chips, showcasing the group’s push to deepen in-house silicon capabilities, while Nvidia's investment supercharged CoreWeave shares amid investor enthusiasm for AI infrastructure plays.
Zoom’s exposure to AI also drew attention, with the company's investment in Anthropic estimated to be worth US$2 billion to $4 billion, according to Baird analysts.
Yet the semiconductor story was not uniformly positive. Intel shares plunged post-earnings as it failed to keep up with demand. Later, Texas Instruments missed estimates, but gained on guidance, suggesting a more nuanced outlook, with near-term softness offset by improving forward signals.
Samsung, by contrast, delivered a stronger tone as profit soared for Q4, with higher chip demand reinforcing the cyclical rebound in memory.
Policy shocks and macro nerves
Politics and policy were never far from centre stage. Trade tensions resurfaced after Trump imposed 25% tariff on some South Korean goods, with Seoul fast-tracking the U.S. investment bill in response.
In Europe’s security sphere, Zelenskyy's confirmation of the completed U.S. security pact text signalled progress on defence co-operation, even with NATO leadership cooling integration ambitions as NATO’s Rutte dismissed the idea of a European joint military.
U.S. domestic policy strains surfaced in aviation and healthcare. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said U.S. flights will return to normal soon, addressing flight disruption concerns, while proposed flat Medicare payments rocked health insurers, and UnitedHealth forecasted a decline in revenue.
Central bank expectations also shifted, with bond investors losing faith in the Fed’s soft landing.
Confidence data added to the gloom as U.S. consumer confidence dropped to a more than decade low. Still, the Fed struck a steadier tone as policymakers held rates steady as the economic outlook improved.
In Australia, inflation remained a key driver. Australian inflation jumped to 3.8% in December, and economists see an increasing chance of an RBA rate hike, sharpening the domestic rates debate.
Japan added to global bond volatility through Japanese bond yields, making the global market jittery, underscoring the spillover risks from moves in JGBs.
Earnings deluge drives stock moves
Corporate earnings releases were relentless this week. In the U.S. industrial and defence complex, RTX beat Q4 earnings estimates, while Northrop backlog hit a record, with sales missing expectations.
Aerospace sentiment was mixed as Boeing shares eased despite a swing back to profit in Q4.
Autos and transport also featured. GM shares drove higher as Q4 earnings beat forecasts, while airlines faced headwinds as American Airlines profits fell amid the U.S. govt shutdown.
Meanwhile, logistics group UPS tops Q4 forecasts, while planning 30,000 job cuts.
In consumer and retail, results were broadly constructive. LVMH reported its second quarter of revenue growth, H&M beat estimates, Levi Strauss earnings beat analyst expectations, and Visa exceeded expectations amid strong holiday spending, all suggesting resilient discretionary demand at the upper end.
Toyota also shrugged off U.S. levies with record 2025 sales.
Technology megacaps delivered more mixed signals. Meta shares were buoyed by quarterly results and outlook, while Microsoft tanked around 10% despite topping forecasts as cloud growth slowed.
Amazon dominated headlines through both strategy and restructuring as Amazon closed its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores, while planning to layoff around 16,000 corporate employees.
Apple capped the week on a high as the company's quarterly profits hit a record amid staggering iPhone demand.
Brand and strategic shifts also surfaced, with Tesla’s brand value dipping by 36% in 2025, while facing an annual revenue drop for the first time in its quarterly results.
Elsewhere, Nike announced plans to cut 775 employees and accelerate automation, while Starbucks saw traffic growth for the first time in 2 years in its quarterly results.
Safe havens shine
Against this backdrop, gold was a standout. The precious metal surged over 4% for the week, notching fresh record highs alongside silver, which also popped 7.6% for the week amid intensifying safe-haven demand.
