Sterling rallied against the U.S. dollar, alongside the euro and the Swiss franc, after the Trump administration threatened Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell with a criminal indictment. The greenback fell sharply as the unprecedented move raised concerns about the U.S. currency’s safe-haven status.
Oil prices held near a five-week high as concerns Iran may reduce exports during a crackdown on the biggest anti-government demonstrations in years offset expectations supplies could rise from Venezuela, another OPEC member under sanctions.
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, reported a 20.45% increase in fourth-quarter revenue from a year earlier, beating the market forecast, as demand for the company’s products leapt in response to surging interest in AI applications.
Walmart will replace British drugmaker AstraZeneca in the Nasdaq-100 Index on January 20, the exchange operator said. The retail giant said in November it would shift its longtime listing on the New York Stock Exchange to its main rival.
The bitcoin network mining difficulty, the relative computing challenge of adding a new block to the decentralized blockchain ledger, fell slightly to 146.4 trillion, in the first difficulty adjustment of 2026. Difficulty reached new all-time highs in 2025.
The S&P 500 ended lower, pulled down by declines in JPMorgan, Blackstone and other financials, while Nvidia and Alphabet lifted the Nasdaq as investors shifted toward AI-related stocks.
