Asia-Pacific markets traded higher on Tuesday as traders shrugged off geopolitical flashpoints in Iran and Venezuela, as well as a criminal investigation into the U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 3.4% to lead gains in the region after resuming trading following a holiday, while the Topix rose 2.13%. Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is expected to dissolve the country’s Lower House later this month and opt for a snap election likely in February, according to public broadcaster NHK. Index heavyweights SoftBank advanced as much as 5%, while Advantest and Tokyo Electron jumped 8.99% and 8.31%, respectively. Yields on the 10-year Japan government bond rose over 5 basis points to 2.15%, while yields on the 20-year surged over 8 basis points to 3.137%.
Stocks rallied off their session lows, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting new all-time highs as investors shook off the Department of Justice opening a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The S&P 500 rose 0.16% to end at 6,977.27, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 86.13 points, or 0.17%, and settled at 49,590.20. Both indexes touched fresh all-time intraday highs and closed at records. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.26% and closed at 23,733.90. The major averages rebounded off their worst levels of the session, helped by gains in Walmart and some technology stocks. The Dow was down nearly 500 points, and the S&P 500 was off 0.5% at session lows.
Gold prices steadied around $4,590 per ounce on Tuesday, close to a record high hit in the previous session, supported by haven demand amid Fed's uncertainty and growing unrest in Iran. US prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into Fed Chair Powell regarding his testimony last June, a move Powell called as part of President Trump’s effort to pressure the Fed into lowering interest rates. Meanwhile, investors are digesting Trump’s announcement of 25% tariffs on countries trading with Iran, as he intensifies pressure on the country amid widespread protests, and has also threatened military action. Attention now turns to US inflation data due later today, which could provide clearer signals on the Fed’s policy direction. The report is especially significant following December’s jobs report on Friday, which indicated a cooling labour market.
WTI crude oil futures rose to around $59.7 per barrel on Tuesday, the highest in more than a month, after US President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on Iran’s trading partners. Trump on Monday said he would impose 25% tariffs on goods from any nation that does business with Iran, intensifying pressure on the country amid widespread domestic protests. Trump said the measure would be “effective immediately” but did not provide further details. Apart from the new tariffs, Trump has also warned of possible military action against Iran, fuelling concerns over potential disruptions to oil supplies from one of the world’s largest producers.
President Donald Trump on Monday said any country doing business with Iran will face a 25% tariff “on any and all business being done with the United States of America.” That new tariff on imports from Iran’s trading partners is “effective immediately,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “This Order is final and conclusive. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he wrote. Further details about the tariff announcement were not immediately clear. A White House official declined to answer CNBC’s questions about the president’s social media post. The apparent effort by Trump to economically isolate Iran comes as the oil-rich Middle Eastern country struggles to suppress an ongoing swell of massive anti-government protests.
India’s consumer inflation rose to 1.33% in December accelerating from 0.71% in the prior month. The headline inflation number was below economists’ expectations of a 1.5% increase in the consumer price index, according to a Reuters poll. The increase in headline inflation and rising food prices was mainly due to “increase in inflation of personal care and effects, vegetables, meat and fish, egg, spices and pulses and products,” India’s Ministry Of Statistics and Programme Implementation said in a release on Monday. Headline inflation increased 0.76% in the rural sector and 2.03% in urban areas in December. However, fuel and light inflation rate eased at 1.97%, lower than the 2.32% print in November.
Venezuela’s stock market has not only shrugged off the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces; it has surged to a record high as investors bet that the battered economy could finally see a turnaround. The country’s benchmark Indice Bursatil de Capitalizacion, or IBC, has gained more than 130% since the U.S. operation on Jan. 3. The rally reflects optimism that Venezuela’s economy could stabilize after years of mismanagement, sanctions and defaults, with expectations growing that a reconfigured government may attract capital, revive oil output and normalize relations with the United States, analysts said. And investors are trying to get in on the action. U.S. ETF issuer Teucrium on Friday applied to the Securities and Exchange Commission to create what would reportedly be the first exchange-traded fund focused on companies with exposure to Venezuela.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said Monday he expects a healthy economy in 2026 and indicated he sees no near-term reason to cut interest rates. The interest-rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee “has moved the modestly restrictive stance of monetary policy closer to neutral,” Williams said in a speech delivered before a gathering held by the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. “Monetary policy is now well positioned to support the stabilization of the labor market and the return of inflation to the FOMC’s longer-run goal of 2%,” he said. Williams said that it’s critical for the Fed to get inflation back to the 2% target “without creating undue risks” to the job market. He added, “In recent months, the downside risks to employment have increased as the labor market cooled, while the upside risks to inflation have lessened.”
Bank executives were sent scrambling over the weekend after President Donald Trump declared late Friday that American credit card companies would be subject to a 10% cap on the interest rate they can charge customers. The move sent shares of large banks including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America down between 1% and 3% Monday. Companies more tightly tethered to the card industry, like Visa, Mastercard and American Express, also fell. Capital One, whose loan book is mostly from credit cards, sank nearly 7%. Trump proposed a one-year cap on interest rates starting Jan. 20. While it’s unclear exactly how that would be enforced, the industry’s message is clear: the plan would bring unintended consequences for consumers and the American economy.
President Donald Trump said in a social media post on Monday that Microsoft will announce changes to ensure that Americans won’t see rising utility bills as the company builds more data centers to meet rising artificial intelligence demand. “I never want Americans to pay higher Electricity bills because of Data Centers,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Therefore, my Administration is working with major American Technology Companies to secure their commitment to the American People, and we will have much to announce in the coming weeks.” Ahead of this year’s midterm elections, President Trump is trying to find ways to lower prices for consumers, as the effects of tariffs he imposed last year on goods imported to the U.S. ripple across the economy. Earlier this month he demanded the purchase of $200 billion in mortgage bonds with the hope of reducing mortgage rates.
Enphase Energy, Inc. a $4.61 billion market cap solar technology company with 20.97% revenue growth over the last twelve months, announced Monday it has started production shipments of its IQ9N-3P Commercial Microinverter across the United States, with initial deliveries beginning in late December 2025. The new microinverter is manufactured domestically to meet U.S. content requirements and Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) compliance for eligible commercial solar projects. It represents Enphase’s first microinverter powered by gallium nitride (GaN) technology designed for three-phase 480Y/277 V grid configurations without external transformers.
[Image of hydrogen fuel cell]Alibaba shares gained over 10% in U.S. trading on Monday as China announced plans to accelerate the integration of digital technologies like artificial intelligence. China’s Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Li Lecheng, stated in an interview with Xinhua News Agency that the country will continue to push forward with the intelligent upgrading of manufacturing and implement an "AI+ Manufacturing" action plan. The central government will also offer a new round of financial support for "little giant" companies in 2026 and drive companies to increase research and development investment, Li said in a separate interview with China Central Television. China’s technology initiatives will focus on accelerating scientific and technological self-reliance while promoting new breakthroughs in future manufacturing. Key areas of focus include quantum technology, humanoid robots, brain-computer interfaces, and 6G.
XPENG Inc. (XPEV) launched its 2026 P7+ sedan model on January 8 at an event in Guangzhou, China. The vehicle will be available in 36 countries in both Super Extended-Range and all-electric configurations. The company reported global deliveries of 429,445 vehicles in 2025, representing 126% year-over-year growth. International deliveries increased 96% to 45,008 units, with European deliveries rising 126% to 22,787 units. XPENG now operates in 60 countries and regions. The P7+ made its European debut at the Brussels Motor Show on January 9. The model completed trial production at manufacturing partner Magna’s facility in Graz, Austria. XPENG produced its 100,000th P7+ unit on January 9 in Guangzhou.
Paramount Skydance is suing Warner Bros. Discovery and CEO David Zaslav as its latest step in a hostile pursuit to acquire WBD, CEO David Ellison outlined in a letter to WBD shareholders on Monday. The lawsuit asks a Delaware court to direct Warner Bros. Discovery to provide information about its sale process and pending deal with Netflix. “WBD has failed to include any disclosure about how it valued the Global Networks stub equity, how it valued the overall Netflix transaction, how the purchase price reduction for debt works in the Netflix transaction, or even what the basis is for its ‘risk adjustment’ of our $30 per share all-cash offer,” Ellison said in the letter on Monday. “We filed suit this morning in Delaware Chancery Court to ask the court to simply direct WBD to provide this information so that WBD shareholders have what they need to be able to make an informed decision as to whether to tender their shares into our offer,” Ellison said.
Michael Burry, the investor famed for his 2008 bet against the U.S. housing market, is taking a bearish stance on Oracle Corp., according to a Substack post he shared Friday. Burry said he owns put options on Oracle, which typically rise in value as the underlying stock falls, and revealed that he also directly shorted the company over the past six months. Oracle shares were down 0.5% in premarket trading. Burry criticised Oracle’s recent strategy, saying he “does not like how it is positioned or the investments it is making. It did not need to do what it is doing, and I do not know why it is doing this. Maybe ego.” He did not provide details on the size or strike of the put options. The move follows a volatile period for Oracle shares. He said he avoids shorting larger tech companies like Meta, Alphabet, and Microsoft, as “the big ones are not pure shorts on AI,” noting these firms’ core businesses are likely to remain dominant despite AI-related risks.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra said the Trump administration’s push to loosen fuel-economy rules has affected the automaker’s business even more than its fast-changing trade policies. Speaking at an Automotive Press Association event ahead of this week’s Detroit auto show, Barra said the administration’s regulatory shifts, such as killing a $7,500 electric-vehicle tax credit and moving to roll back tailpipe-emissions rules, prompted GM to rapidly adapt its product plans. “We had to make some fairly significant changes,” Barra said, referring to decisions to cut billions of dollars’ worth of EV investments while leaning in harder to combustion-engine vehicles. Barra said GM still believes EVs eventually will take off in the U.S. as charging becomes easier and prices come down, and said GM still sees battery-powered vehicles as “the end game.”