OPENING CALL

Stocks looked set to rise on Thursday as investors tried to make sense of a mixed bag of Big Tech earnings, precious metals were once again making eye-popping moves and tensions with Iran moved back into the spotlight.

Three of the Magnificent Seven reported after the close Wednesday with Microsoft forecasting softer-than-expected revenue growth for its Azure cloud division, Meta Platforms signaling another sizable increase in AI spending , and Tesla reporting better news than Wall Street expected.

The next big event will be earnings from Apple, set to report late Thursday.

"Participants will probably want to see a fair bit more from Apple today, as well as Amazon and Alphabet next week, [but] there's nothing here to make me want to reconsider my bullish equity view," said Michael Brown, strategist at the foreign-exchange brokerage Pepperstone.

"On the whole, earnings growth remains robust, the underlying economy remains solid, plus both monetary and fiscal tailwinds persist."

Oil prices gained, with Brent-crude futures hitting their highest intraday level since September on reports that Trump was weighing new strikes on Iran.

Stocks to Watch

Meta Platforms' sales beat Wall Street expectations. Shares gained more than 7% premarket.

IBM posted a 12% increase in revenue and gave sales guidance ahead of expectations. The stock rose 8% premarket.

Las Vegas Sands reported lower-than-expected earnings in its Macao division. Shares slid 8.4%.

Whirlpool had an unexpected decline in sales, driven by lower volumes in its Americas businesses. The stock fell 8.5%.

Watch For:

Weekly Jobless Claims; Revised Productivity and Costs for 3Q; Trade for November; Canada Trade for November; Earnings from Apple, Caterpillar, Comcast, Mastercard and Visa

Today's Top Headlines/Must Reads:

-Meta Overshadows Microsoft by Showing AI Payoff in Ad Business

-U.S. Companies Are Still Slashing Jobs to Reverse Pandemic Hiring Boom

-Coordinated Yen Intervention More Sugar Hit Than Long-Term Fix

MARKET WRAPS

Forex:

The dollar fell after Trump ramped up pressure on Iran and investors weighed Wednesday's Fed policy decision.

Addressing the dollar's recent weakness as the Fed left rates unchanged, Powell said currency concerns are "fully under the purview of the U.S. Treasury."

ING said investors remained pessimistic on the dollar as they quickly shrugged off the Fed's more optimistic assessment of the economy on Wednesday and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ruling out U.S. intervention to support the yen.

"There are no signs that markets are ready to unwind dollar pessimism just yet."

"We may well be in the middle of a round of significant increase in dollar hedging as the dollar's safe-haven value deteriorates," it said, adding that strong U.S. data would be needed to help fuel a dollar recovery

The euro's recent strength has fuelled debate about whether the ECB could cut interest rates, ING said, however it added the effectiveness of another rate cut to weaken the euro was doubtful, as the correlation between the euro-dollar exchange rate and short-term rate differentials had virtually disappeared.

"We'll instead need to see a significant break below $1.1900 before we can conclude the tide is turning on [euro-dollar]."

Sterling looked heavily overvalued , particularly against the dollar, Oxford Economics said.

The local elections in May could act as a catalyst to pound weakness if markets perceive the election outcome as unfavorable and Sterling could fall to a range between $1.20 and $1.25.

Convera said s terling could rise towards $1.40, even in the absence of strong U.K. catalysts.

Bonds:

The Treasury yield curve was steepening , with short-dated Treasury yields edging lower and those on longer maturities rising.

Madison Investments said, regardless of who is nominated to the Fed Chair, it will be difficult for the incumbent to implement an overtly political rate policy, adding that even a more dovish appointee would be constrained by a cautious, institutionally conservative FOMC.

"Efforts to push aggressively on the front end of the curve would likely result in higher long-term yields, ultimately working against the intended objective."

Energy:

Oil prices rose to their highest level since late September, driven by Iran concerns.

Iran pumps around 3.3 million barrels a day and exports roughly 1.5 million barrels a day.

"This will be the most immediate supply concern," ING analysts said.

Investors are also watching the Strait of Hormuz--a critical choke point where around 20 million barrels a day of crude flow--as any disruption could have far-reaching consequences.

However, "in the absence of an escalation, bearish fundamentals should once again take center stage, leading the market to trend lower."

Brent crude's rapid rise has gathered considerable momentum, based on the daily chart, UOB said, adding that if it broke above last September's high of $70.75/bbl, focus would shift to the July high of $73.63/bbl.

Metals:

Gold surged past $5,500 an ounce for the first time, extending a historic rally boosted by a weaker dollar and growing expectations that the next Fed chair will pursue further monetary easing.

Copper

Copper prices climbed to a fresh record above $13,900 a metric ton as part of a broader metals rally.

Silver

Silver prices hit a record.

Aluminum

Aluminum climbed to its highest level since 2022, driven by supply concerns and a broader metals bull run. 


   TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

Russia's Lukoil Strikes Conditional Deal to Sell International Assets to Carlyle

Russia's Lukoil said it reached a conditional deal to sell its international assets to U.S. private-equity firm Carlyle Group, kicking off what is likely to be a complex process for the transaction to go ahead.

It comes weeks after the Trump administration blocked a previous agreement, under which the sanctioned oil producer would have sold the assets to commodities trader Gunvor.

SAP Shares Slump After Cloud Backlog, Guidance Disappoint

SAP shares plunged after the German business-software group's cloud backlog and sales guidance disappointed investors.

The company behind the Concur travel and expense management platform said its current cloud backlog-a closely watched measure of sales SAP expects to recognize over the upcoming year based on existing contracts-grew 25% at constant currencies in the fourth quarter to 21.05 billion euros, equivalent to $25.17 billion. Investors had expected 26% growth. SAP said some revenue from large deals would move beyond this year, shaving off approximately 1 percentage point in growth.

Toyota Remains World's Top-Selling Automaker

Toyota Motor said its group sales rose to a record 11.3 million vehicles in 2025, cementing its position as the world's top-selling automaker, even as U.S. tariffs disrupted the industry and hit the company's earnings.

The Japanese carmaker said Thursday that its group worldwide sales, which include those of subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor and Hino Motors, rose 4.6% in 2025.

Eurozone Business Confidence Jumps at Start of Year

Confidence among businesses in the eurozone jumped more than expected in January, in line with a rise in consumer confidence at the start of the year.

The European Commission said Thursday that its Economic Sentiment Indicator-which measures attitudes of businesses across multiple sectors of the economy-rose to 99.4 in the month compared with 97.2 in December.

Why Powell Won't Say if He Is Staying on the Fed Board

For the fourth time since summer, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell declined Wednesday to say whether he will remain on the central bank's board after his chairmanship ends May 15.

"Again, I don't want to get into this," Powell said at a news conference after the Fed's latest meeting.

A Battered Iran Is Still Able to Mount a Deadly Response to U.S. Strikes

Israel pounded Iran's military in June's 12-day war, but the regime emerged from the bruising conflict with much of its arsenal of thousands of ballistic missiles intact, which gives it the ability to inflict real damage on the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East.

Tehran has an estimated 2,000 midrange ballistic missiles that can reach across the region and strike as far as Israel. It also has significant stockpiles of short-range missiles capable of reaching U.S. bases in the Gulf and ships in the straits of Hormuz, although estimates of those missiles vary. Iran also has significant stockpiles of antiship cruise missiles and torpedo boats, as well as many drones that can threaten U.S. ships.

U.K.'s Starmer Joins Ranks of U.S. Allies Testing China's Embrace

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chinese leader Xi Jinping moved to improve ties in Beijing on Thursday as Britain's relations with the U.S. have been tested by President Trump's tariff increases and calls for the seizure of Greenland.

China has sought to woo U.S. allies amid the disruption, a point Xi emphasized as the two leaders met in the Great Hall of the People and together called for a "comprehensive strategic partnership."

A Secret FBI Bust Nabbed an Alleged Drug Lord-and Rocked Relations With Mexico

MEXICO CITY-Ryan Wedding was on the run.

Mexican security forces were closing in on the 44-year-old Canadian-a snowboarder who once competed for Canada in the Olympics but has since landed on America's most-wanted list for allegedly running a vast cocaine-trafficking network-said Mexican and U.S. officials familiar with the operation.

Democrats Lay Out Demands on Immigration Agents as Shutdown Nears

(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

01-29-26 0617ET