🚀 Morning Update - 23 January 2026 (Friday)

🇺🇸 Wall Street closed firmly higher on a renewed wave of risk-on sentiment. The S&P 500 gained over 0.5%, the Nasdaq jumped around 0.9%, and the Dow Jones added more than 0.6%, supported by strong macro data and improving investor confidence.

📊 US macro check

Revised GDP growth reached 4.4%, while initial jobless claims came in below forecasts, confirming resilience in the labour market. Core PCE inflation stands at 2.8% YoY, still slightly elevated and keeping the Fed’s cautious stance in focus.

🇯🇵 Japan: BoJ holds, yen volatility persists

The Bank of Japan kept its short-term interest rate at 0.75%, while raising its core inflation forecasts and highlighting growing inflation risks. Although core inflation slowed to 2.4% YoY in December from 3.0% in November, it remains above the BoJ’s target. At the same time, PMI data reached a 17-month high, signalling a recovery in Japanese industrial activity.

🇨🇳 China: fixing under scrutiny

The PBOC set the USD/CNY reference rate at 6.9929, noticeably higher than market expectations, keeping traders alert to policy signals.

🌏 Asia ends the week on a positive note

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.29%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.33%, China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.27%, and Australia’s ASX 200 edged up 0.06%. South Korea’s KOSPI outperformed with a 0.6% gain.

💱 FX

The strongest volatility remains in USD/JPY, which continues to react sharply to central-bank decisions and macroeconomic releases.

🛢 Oil: geopolitics back in play

Oil markets remain volatile after President Donald Trump warned about sending a “fleet” toward Iran, raising concerns over potential supply disruptions from this key producer.

🥇 Metals

Gold and silver continue to benefit from geopolitical tensions. Gold is up around 0.3%, hovering near $4,950 per ounce, while silver has surged about 3%, moving above $99 per ounce.

🪙 Crypto

In the cryptocurrency market, bitcoin is up around 0.3%, while Ethereum is trading broadly flat.

🧠 Stocks in focus

💻 Intel reported Q4 results above expectations, but warned of significantly lower margins and revenues in Q1, which tempered optimism.

🗓 Economic Calendar of the Day

🇬🇧 UK: Retail Sales (Dec), Flash PMIs (Jan)

🇺🇸 US: Manufacturing PMI (Jan)

🇯🇵 Japan: CPI (Dec), BoJ decision and press conference

✅ Bottom line: sentiment improved, but currencies and commodities remain highly sensitive to central-bank signals and geopolitical headlines.

📣 Stay sharp, manage your risk, and follow NordFX for the next market update!