US Markets, The U.S. stocks prices closed lower in response to the Federal Reserve indication of a rate hike as from March and as Chairman Powell discussed the challenges of a post-pandemic economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 129 points or 0.4%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.15% and the Nasdaq Composite pushed out a fractional gain of 0.02%. All three of the major averages gave up gains of between 2-3% midday. 

Ticker Security Last                           Change        Change %
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 34168.090000 -129.64 -0.380%
SP500 S&P 500 4349.9300000 -6.5200 -0.150%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX          13542.118929 +2.8200 +0.02%

Tech Stocks, Microsoft shares closed 2% higher after the software maker's strong quarter and better-than-expected revenue, which hit $51.7 billion, a 20% jump.

Ticker Security                        Last             Change     Change %
MSFT MICROSOFT CORP. 296.71 +8.22 +2.85%
 

Tesla reports of solid profits will further prop its share upward in Thursday trading. 

Ticker       Security        Last          Change        Change %
TSLA TESLA INC. 937.41 +19.01 +2.07%
AAPL APPLE INC. 159.69 -0.090 -0.06%

Semiconductor/Chip stocks,  gained momentum after Texas Instruments forecast revenue in the first quarter would be as high as $4.9 billion, exceeding analyst estimates. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
TXN         TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED      178.33       +4.37         +2.51%         
NVDA NVIDIA CORP. 227.72 +4.48 +2.01%

 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
USO UNITED STATES OIL FUND L.P.       61.68      +0.71      +1.16%

Commodities, Oil also rose to $87.35 per barrel level.

Russia vs Ukraine, Ukraine's leaders have assured their country that an invasion from neighbouring Russia is not imminent but acknowledged the threat is real and received a shipment of U.S. military equipment to shore up their defences. Moscow has denied it is planning an assault, but it has massed an estimated 100,000 troops near Ukraine in recent weeks and is holding military drills at multiple locations in Russia. That has led the United States and its NATO allies to rush to prepare for a possible war.

Cryptoasset, Bitcoin is experiencing a bounce-back as it continues to stabilize trading at the $37K level. 

SPOT MARKET  BY THE HOUR AS OF GMT 08:25  01-27-22