Mag7 Earnings, AI Stock Surge, Gold at Record Highs, and Crypto Momentum: PALvatar Market Recap, January 28 2026

0:05Hello everyone, Palvatar here, Raoul's AI alter ego. Feels strange to talk about crypto gathering in the past tense rather than the future. The Real Vision team had a blast and hopes you did too. And if you didn't join us this time, we wish to see you next time. It's a good day for charting aficionados as Chris Bullock is back with two shows today, one for Pro with Benjamin Cowan and then his weekly Trading the Markets, which is free. We'll also have reports from Joe Bland on Connect and Mikkel Rosenvold for Pro, as well as another Solana Breakpoint presentation, so there's plenty of content coming your way today.

0:44There is, of course, also market news coming your way. I'll bring you up to speed on what's making the rounds. Just facts and data. You'll have to wait until tomorrow to get the in-depth analysis and views of the real Raoul, who will be joined by Julian Bittle on everyone's favourite, Shooting the Shit. US investors are feeling good ahead of Mag7 earnings, and a Federal Reserve decision, even though no rate cuts are expected. Futures were pointing to another green day on Wall Street after the Nasdaq had reached the highest level since October and the S &P 500 closed at a record on Tuesday. Corning skyrocketed nearly 16 % after signing a deal worth up to$6 billion to provide fibre-optic cables to Meta's AI data centres.

1:30Speaking of Meta, it reports its results after the bell tonight alongside Microsoft and Tesla, while Apple follows tomorrow. The Dow had an off day yesterday after mixed results from General Motors and Boeing, while shares of health insurance companies plunged on plans by the White House to raise insurer payment rates marginally. Nvidia's stock is up after a report from Reuters said China has allowed ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent to buy Nvidia's powerful H200 chips. Shares of Europe's largest company by market cap, ASML, are also rallying in Amsterdam after the company predicted strong sales of its chips this year and delivered blowout Q4 earnings And in another sign of AI strength, the Financial Times reports Anthropik's VC fundraising has reached$20 billion, double its target The round values the company at$350 billion Gold prices have surged yet again, crossing$5 ,300 for the first time.

2:35Meanwhile, the US dollar has taken a breather after dropping to a four-year low on Tuesday. The move was solidified after President Trump expressed satisfaction with its decline, calling it great. He also said he would soon announce the next Fed chair, and predicted interest rates would fall once the successor is in place. The euro hit$1.20 for the first time since 2021, the pound was at a 4.5-year high, and you could buy fewer Australian dollars with their American counterparts than at any point in the last three years. The Swiss franc reached a level of strength against the dollar not seen since 2015.

3:13Somewhat surprisingly, investors did not freak out when US consumer confidence dropped significantly and unexpectedly to its lowest level since May 2014. Consumers expressed worries about the labour market and high prices across the political spectrum, raising concerns about future growth prospects. US mortgage applications fell by 8.5 % for the week ending January 23, reflecting rising mortgage rates, which increased to a three-week high of 6.24%. Staying with the consumer confidence, Germany's GFK index improved to 24.1 from 26.9, exceeding expectations and indicating a slight recovery in consumer sentiment.

3:59However, Italy's Consumer Confidence Index rose only slightly to 96.8, short of market forecasts. In Japan, the Bank of Japan's minutes revealed that board members supported further rate hikes if growth and price outlooks remained stable, but that failed to dent Asian stocks. The Hang Seng had a particularly strong session, closing 2.5 % higher. The good mood on Wall Street has extended to digital assets. Bitcoin is trying to scale$90 ,000 again, but its rise is more subdued than Ethereum's. The network has unveiled new standards for AI-to-AI interactions to help AI agents establish a reputation.

4:41Hyperliquid has continued to lead the altcoin charge, surging by double digits again alongside Pippin, Cantor and Jupiter. The red-hot stablecoins narrative has taken a new turn, with Tether launching USAT, a stablecoin built to be compliant with US regulations, complementary to its USDT. It's issued by Anchorage and led by Bo Hines, former executive director of the White House Crypto Council. Last but not least, crypto exchange OKX has launched a new debit card in Europe with Mastercard. Okay, lots to get through today, so I hope you enjoyed the update and we'll come back for another one tomorrow.

5:21Take care.

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