Global equities declined over the week, after global geopolitics weighed on investor sentiments. President Donald Trump warned European countries of additional tariffs, if they continued to hinder American efforts to purchase Greenland. Banks and financial services stocks also slid during the week, after U.S. President Donald Trump called for a one-year cap on credit card interest rates at 10%. The U.S. Department of Justice issued grand jury subpoenas to Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell. The U.S. financial sector reported mixed fourth quarter results. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. posted record fourth quarter profits.

In global geopolitics, President Trump announced the creation of a Board of Peace, to administer the Gaza Strip. However Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to raise Israel’s concerns directly with the Trump administration, as the announcement was made without Israel’s coordination and conflicts with Israeli government policy. Ukraine reported that Kyiv is operating with only half of its required electricity, after sustained Russian strikes severely damaged its infrastructure. President Trump indicated his willingness to order a military strike on Iran, if the Iranian government cracked down on protests, but later said that the protesters was easing and ruled out the possibility of military action.

Global Updates
  • The MSCI All Country World Index edged lower over the week following President Donald Trump’s statement warned European countries of additional tariffs, if the U.S. was hindered from purchasing Greenland. Additionally global equities tracked the U.S. equities lower, following mixed earnings reports and the suggestion of a one-year rate cap on credit card interest rates.
  • The unemployment rate in Canada rose to 6.8% in December, up from 6.5% in November.
  • DeepSeek returned 55% on investment in its fund, High-Flyer.
  • Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported a record quarterly profit of $16 billion on revenue exceeding $33.1 
  • Suppliers involved in producing components for Nvidia’s H200 chip have temporarily halted output after Chinese customs blocked shipments of the newly approved AI processors from entering the country.
  • Porsche recorded its sharpest annual sales drop in 16 years in 2025, as weak demand and strong competition in China contributed to a 10% global decline, mirroring similar struggles at Audi and Mercedes‑
  • Canada negotiated a new trade agreement with China, under which Canada will sharply cut tariffs on key imports by allowing 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into the market at a reduced 6% rate—down from 100%—and lowering the canola seed tariff from 84% to about 15% by March 1.
  • China has halted imports of Russian electricity due to high prices, while Russia says it is ready to resume supplies and ongoing talks aim to resolve the issue.
  • U.S. gold spot prices posted its second consecutive weekly gain and a record price of $4,642.72 in the week driven by geopolitical tensions. However, receding geopolitical tensions led to profit taking by investors at the end of the week.
  • Oil prices have risen over the week as investors priced in the potential for supply disruptions if geopolitical tensions in the Middle East escalate.
U.S. Equity
  • U.S. equity markets declined over the week reacting to mixed economic data and President Trumps remarks on the credit card industry. Shares of major credit‑card issuers fell sharply after President Trump announced a one‑year cap of 10% on credit‑card interest rates starting Jan 20. Markets initially shrugged off the Department of Justice’s subpoena on Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
  • The Supreme Court has deferred ruling on the legality of the Trump tariffs which has extended the uncertainty faced by stakeholders. Trump administration’s economic advisor Kevin Hassett said that in case of an adverse ruling, the White House’s backup plan is to impose a universal 10% tariff.
  • President Donald Trump indicated his preference to retain Kevin Hassett in his position as top economic advisor to the Trump administration. This has raised the probability of Kevin Warsh being appointed as the Fed Chair.
  • The U.S. Department of Justice issued grand jury subpoenas to Fed Chair Jerome Powell over his June Senate Banking Committee testimony related to Fed building renovations. Powell suggested that the potential criminal charges were aimed at influencing the Fed’s independent making.
  • JPMorgan Chase reported a higher-than-expected EPS of $5.23 and revenue of $46.77 billion over the fourth quarter. However, a $2.2 billion reserve led to a 7% decline in the bank’s profits to $13.03 billion.
  • Bank of America posted 12% higher fourth-quarter profit of $7.6 billion on 9.7% higher net interest income of $15.92 billion.
  • Wells Fargo’s 4% higher net interest income of $12.33 billion in the fourth quarter missed expectations due to the $612 million in severance expenses over the quarter.
  • Alphabet’s market capitalization crossed the $4 trillion benchmark this week, after Alphabet stock rallied following the news of Apple’s plans to use Google’s Gemini to drive the upcoming Apple Intelligence features, and an AI-enhanced Siri.
  • Walmart’s stock price rose on the news of the retailer joining the Nasdaq 100 index. Walmart has also announced a partnership with Google’s Gemini AI, similar to its partnership with ChatGPT last year.
  • Walmart International promoted Chris Nicholas to succeed CEO Kathryn McLay who will be stepping down at the end of the month. John Furner will be taking over as the CEO of Walmart U.S.A from Doug McMillon February 1.
  • Meta has named former Trump deputy national security advisor, Dina Powell McCormick as its new president and vice chairman.
  • Micron’s stock price rose after regulatory filing’s unveiled the purchase of $8 million in stock by company insiders.
  • Stock price of Constellation energy and Vistra declined following the reported plans by the Trump administration to push for emergency power procurement auctions and to promote captive power generation by data centers along with expansion of existing infrastructure.
  • The Trump administration approved the exports Nvidia’s H200 AI chips to China but China has barred their import.
Fixed Income
  • The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index declined over the week.
  • The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose up to 4.231% and the yield on the 2-year note rose to 599% over the week.
  • The U.S. Dollar Index rose to 99.39 over the week.

HCM-030624-063.GWS