Global financial media focused on several key headlines overnight and this morning.
Gold prices retreated from above $5,500 as profit-taking curbed upward momentum. Gold recorded its most significant drop since last October. As investors fled sovereign bond and foreign exchange markets, gold briefly surpassed $5,500 per ounce before traders rushed to lock in profits. Weighed down by a rebounding US dollar, gold plummeted as much as 5.7% during the session, marking its largest intraday decline since October 21, before paring some losses. Silver saw even steeper declines, falling up to 8.4%. Gold has experienced substantial gains this year, driven by escalating geopolitical tensions and concerns regarding the Federal Reserve's independence.
SpaceX is in discussions for a potential merger with xAI ahead of a possible blockbuster initial public offering (IPO) for the rocket and satellite manufacturer. A merger would consolidate Elon Musk's rocket business, Starlink satellites, social media platform X, and the Grok AI chatbot under a single entity. Musk serves as CEO for both companies. Under the proposed terms, xAI equity would be exchanged for SpaceX shares. To facilitate the transaction, two legal entities were established in Nevada on January 21.
Apple reported record-high revenue and profit for its fiscal fourth quarter, with its stock rising over 3% in after-hours trading. On January 29, 2026, Apple Inc. filed a Form 8-K with the SEC, formally releasing its earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2026 (ended December 27, 2025). The company's key financial metrics all hit historic highs: total revenue reached $143.756 billion, a 16% year-over-year increase; net profit was $42.097 billion, up 15.9%; and diluted earnings per share were $2.84, an 18.3% increase, all significantly exceeding market expectations. Following the earnings release, Apple's stock climbed more than 3% in extended trading. The company's gross margin for the quarter rose to 48.2%, a 1.3 percentage point improvement from 46.9% a year ago. Research and development expenses surged to $10.887 billion, a 31.7% increase, providing support for technological R&D and product innovation.
Microsoft's market value evaporated by $357 billion as its stock suffered its largest single-day percentage drop since 2020. Microsoft's earnings report disappointed some investors, triggering a sharp decline of approximately 10% in its share price on Thursday. This plunge erased $357 billion from the tech giant's market capitalization, which settled at $3.22 trillion by Thursday's close. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF tumbled 5% on Thursday. While the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index closed only slightly lower, down 0.7%, not all technology stocks weakened.
Amazon.com is in talks to invest up to $50 billion in OpenAI within the coming weeks. This move by the e-commerce behemoth represents a massive vote of confidence in OpenAI, following its previous investments in one of OpenAI's key rivals. People familiar with the matter revealed that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy are directly involved in the negotiations. Since 2023, Amazon has already invested billions of dollars in Anthropic, a competitor to OpenAI.
Apple has completed its acquisition of the Israeli artificial intelligence startup Q.ai, as confirmed by an Apple representative on Thursday. Q.ai is a low-profile company that has never publicly launched a product, though its website indicates its R&D focus is audio-related. The startup is led by CEO Avied Miesel, who previously sold his company, Prime Sense, to Apple in 2013. "We are thrilled to complete the acquisition and are incredibly excited for the new collaboration ahead with Avied and his team," said Johny Srouji, Apple's Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies, who also oversees the company's chip development.
Comments