Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell takes a break as he speaks during a news conference following a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee at the Federal Reserve on January 28, 2026 in Washington, U.S.
Kevin Deitch | Getty Images
As expected, the US Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged at 3.5%-3.75%.
But investors were the signs of political fingerprints on the independent central bank.
Much of the meeting and press conference focused on the U.S. economy and labor market — which the Fed believes have improved since the last meeting.
But Powell has filed a lawsuit against Fed Governor Lisa Cook accused of mortgage fraud, a claim she has denied. The decision will decide whether US President Donald Trump can fire him.
“This situation is possible the most important legal situation In the 113-year history of the Fed, Powell said at a press conference after the Fed meeting on Wednesday. “When I thought about it, I thought it might be difficult to explain why I wasn’t involved.”
Powell also had some advice for the next Fed chair. “Don’t get caught up in the politics of choice,” Powell said. “Don’t do that.”
The tech megacap’s success also dominated the news overnight. Meta, Microsoft and Tesla reported results after markets closed. Despite beating all expectations for earnings per share and earnings, investors picked up their rewards.
In extended trading, Meta shares rose as much as 10% on better-than-expected first-quarter revenue. Shares of Tesla rose about 1% in 2025, despite experiencing its first annual revenue decline. Most recently, Microsoft fell more than 6% due to slower cloud growth and softer margin guidance.
Asian chip giants also achieved expected results. SK Hynix announced on Wednesday Record full-year profits for 2025and Samsung Electronics’ fourth-quarter earnings hit a quarterly highthe company announced on Thursday. Both firms have a shortage of memory chips.
on wednesday S&P 500 vreached the 7000 level for the first time, but closed below this threshold. The USD reinforced after the Treasury Secretary denied the reports that the country is intervening in the currency market.
This morning in Asia, gold the price reached a record high of over $5,500. together Apple Next up for the earnings report, there’s a lot for investors to keep an eye on.
— CNBC’s Alex Harring contributed to this report.
What you need to know today
And finally…
Why Singapore is becoming a haven for investors
When KPMG CEO Anton Ruddenclaw moved from the leafy streets of London’s suburbs to sprawling Singapore, one of the first things he noticed was how easy it was to do business in the Southeast Asian country.
While Ruddenclaw said Singapore itself was “not particularly interesting” as a market, due to its small population investors liked it for its location, English common law and large private equity markets, he added, describing it as a “hub” for capital flows to and from Asia.
– Lucy Handley