Daily Market Report – January 12, 2026
Market Overview (Mon., January 12, 2026) - after the opening of the US market
The day was marked by a "Fed Independence Shock": Following reports of criminal investigations against Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Powell's unusually sharp counter-reaction, fears grew regarding political influence from the Trump camp on monetary policy. This triggered a classic risk-averse rotation: Gold rose to a record high, the US dollar came under pressure, and stocks traded nervously. In the bond markets, the yield curve steepened as investors demanded slightly higher risk premiums for longer maturities.
Trump's call for a temporary interest rate cap of 10% on credit cards weighed on financial stocks. Capital One COF: approx. -6%, American Express AXP: approx. -4%, Synchrony Financial SYF: approx. -7%, Bread Financial BFH: approx. -11%, Visa V and Mastercard MA: approx. -1% to -2%. Bread Financial issues credit cards and offers consumer loans. If a 10% interest rate cap were introduced, these interest revenues would decline significantly. Visa and Mastercard, on the other hand, are primarily payment service providers. They typically do not extend credit. They mainly earn from fees per card transaction. Therefore, an interest rate cap would affect them much less. This is why their stock prices fell less.
Alibaba 9988 and other Chinese tech stocks rose significantly today. The reason was a signal from Beijing. The competition authority is taking a closer look at the price competition in the food delivery and same-day delivery services sector. Customers are often lured with discounts and subsidies. Investors are now hoping for stricter regulations. This would mean that providers would have to spend less money on discounts, and margins would increase.