MARKET WRAPS
STOCKS: Stocks finished mixed as a selloff for Microsoft due to disappointing earnings was offset by gains for another artificial-intelligence player, Meta Platforms.
TREASURYS: Treasury yields declined as the November U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected and government officials moved to avoid another shutdown.
FOREX: The U.S. dollar fell against rivals, testing multiyear lows in the wake of the Federal Reserve's pause.
COMMODITIES: Oil futures rose amid Iran-U.S. military tensions. Gold and copper futures rose to record highs on a volatile session for metals.
HEADLINES
Apple Posts Blowout iPhone Sales on Surging China Demand
Apple reported blowout iPhone sales in the December quarter, and record profits, closing out a tumultuous year in which the company confronted tariffs and other challenges in its efforts to roll out new AI features.
IPhone sales of $85.3 billion were up 23% from the prior year period as customers, excited by Apple's new iPhone 17 lineup, upgraded their smartphones faster than usual. That powered Apple to record quarterly sales and profits, results that exceeded Wall Street expectations.
Sales were particularly strong in China, where Apple's results have been uneven in recent years.
Amazon in Talks to Invest Up to $50 Billion in OpenAI
Amazon.com is in talks to invest up to $50 billion in OpenAI, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be a giant bet on the hot artificial-intelligence startup.
The ChatGPT maker is seeking up to $100 billion in new capital from investors, a round that could value it at as much as $830 billion, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. SoftBank is in talks to invest up to $30 billion more in OpenAI as part of the round, adding to the Japanese conglomerate's already large stake in the startup.
Andy Jassy, Amazon's chief executive, is leading the negotiations with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, according to some of the people. The exact shape of a deal, should one be reached, could still change, the people said.
Visa First-Quarter Sales Climb on Strong Holiday Shopping
Visa logged higher revenue and profit in the first quarter, citing strong consumer spending through the holidays.
The payments company on Thursday posted a profit of $5.85 billion, or $3.03 a share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with $5.12 billion, or $2.58 a share, a year earlier.
Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted per-share earnings were $3.17, ahead of the $3.14 anticipated by analysts, according to FactSet.
Fed Chair Announcement Is Coming Next Week, Trump Says
President Donald Trump will announce his nominee for the next chair of the Federal Reserve next week, he said at a Cabinet meeting Thursday.
"We're going to be announcing the head of the Fed, who that will be, and that will be a person that will, I think, do a good job," Trump said.
Trump has delayed making a decision as he wrestles with the issue of the Fed's independence. He wants a choice who will lower interest rates by two or three percentage points from their current range of 3.5-3.75%. But the Fed chair doesn't have to listen to the president.
U.S. Factory Orders Rose in November
U.S. factory orders rose in November, the Census Bureau said Thursday.
Orders from U.S. factories rose 2.7% in November to $621.6 billion, from $605.4 billion in October. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal were expecting a 1.3% increase.
The report showed that shipments from factories fell by 0.1% in November after an October increase. Unfilled orders increased by 1.4%, the 16th monthly increase in the past 17 months, the report said.
Trump Says Deal Is Close With Democrats to Avert Shutdown
WASHINGTON-President Trump said the White House was moving toward a deal with Senate Democrats that could avert a partial government shutdown by splitting off a contentious bill providing money for immigration enforcement from a broader $1.3 trillion funding package.
"Hopefully we won't have a shutdown. We're working on that right now. I think we're getting close," Trump said Thursday at a cabinet meeting at the White House. "We'll work in a very bipartisan way to not have a shutdown, we don't want a shutdown."
Democrats and the White House have discussed passing five of the six spending bills that already have cleared the House-funding most of the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year-then passing a short-term measure for the Department of Homeland Security. That approach would set the stage for negotiations on proposed restrictions on immigration enforcement.
Home Depot Cuts 800 Jobs, Orders Corporate Workers Back to Office Full Time
Home Depot has laid off 800 workers associated with its corporate headquarters, part of an effort to boost the company's speed and focus more on its front-line workers.
The home-improvement retailer also said its corporate employees will have to return to the office five days a week, starting the week of April 6.
Home Depot said the layoffs affected fewer than 150 roles based at its Atlanta headquarters, and the rest worked remotely.
Comcast's Broadband Subscriber Slump Persists
Comcast continued to lose domestic broadband customers in the fourth quarter, though overall revenue edged up as its wireless, streaming and parks businesses continued to grow.
The cable-and-entertainment company said Thursday it lost 181,000 broadband customers in the U.S., more than the 176,000 customers that analysts had expected to exit, according to FactSet. Domestic broadband revenue slipped to $6.32 billion.
The company also lost 245,000 domestic video customers, slightly better than the loss of 247,600 video customers analysts expected. Revenue for the cable business was down 5.6%, at $6.36 billion.
Lockheed Martin to Quadruple Thaad Missile-Defense Output
Lockheed Martin said it will quadruple its Thaad missile-defense system output, to roughly 400 interceptors a year, in response to demand from Pentagon officials gearing up for conflicts on multiple fronts.
The defense contractor said Thursday it reached an agreement with the Defense Department to increase Thaad output over the next seven years, building on a separate agreement from earlier this month to sharply boost the production of Patriot missiles over the course of seven years.
To support increased production, Lockheed Martin said it would break ground on a new facility in Camden, Arkansas.
U.S. Trade Deficit Grew in November
The U.S. trade deficit rebounded in November, the Commerce Department said Thursday, extending a turbulent stretch for international trade flows as the economy responds to the Trump administration's tariffs and financial volatility.
In November, U.S. imports rose by 5% to $348.9 billion, while exports decreased by 3.6% to $292.1 billion. Those moves yielded a deficit for the month of $56.8 billion, nearly twice as large as the $29.2 billion deficit recorded in October.
Amid fast-changing trade rules and volatility in financial markets, cross-border flows of gold and pharmaceuticals have been unusually responsible for big swings in trade numbers over the past few months.
Mastercard to Cut 4% of Full-Time Employees After Business Review
Mastercard said it plans to cut 4% of its roughly 35,000 employees and book a $200 million restructuring charge, becoming the latest in a series of companies that have announced job cuts in recent days.
The move follows a recent strategic review of its business, Chief Financial Officer Sachin Mehra said on a call with analysts Thursday.
"We expect these actions will free up capacity to further invest in our strategic priorities and best position us to continue to execute on our growth algorithm," Mehra said.
Dow to Cut 4,500 Employees in AI Overhaul
Dow is cutting 4,500 employees as part of a cost-saving program that will lean on artificial intelligence to increase productivity and bolster shareholder returns.
The cuts, which will result in $1.1 billion to $1.5 billion in one-time charges, came as the chemicals company said its quarterly loss widened because of lower revenue and higher costs.
Dow said it is embarking on a program dubbed Transform to Outperform, which would employ artificial intelligence and automation to reduce expenditure and catalyze growth and productivity, yielding an additional $2 billion in operating earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization.
TALKING POINT What the Slide in the Dollar Means for Trade, Travel and Investment
Carol Tricoche shielded her clients from a big risk in December, when the Oregon travel adviser locked in a 10-person group's coming five-night stay in London at the then-exchange rate. Since then, the value of the dollar has plunged.
"If the dollar changes, your hotel cost goes up. With me, you're locked in," Tricoche said, adding that the currency's recent weakness has added to pressure on less-affluent Americans hoping to go abroad. "Those aren't the folks I'm seeing right now."
The dollar's slide to its lowest level in years has renewed fears about America's pre-eminent position in global markets, spurred conflicting statements from the White House and shifted the math behind everything from international travel to U.S. corporate profits to European furniture exports.
Wall Street is betting there will be more weakness to come, potentially ending a yearslong run in which the dollar has far outstripped many peers, enticing investors the world over to park more money in America.
The dollar's strength over the past decade was propelled in large part by American exceptionalism, or the outperformance of the U.S. economy and markets compared with the rest of the developed world. Political stability and strong rule of law gave overseas investors-such as Japanese life insurers and European pensions-extra reason to snap up U.S. assets.
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
January 29, 2026 16:48 ET (21:48 GMT)
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