🌅 Morning Update - 29 January 2026 (Thursday)

🟡 Gold in record mode: The rally has accelerated again, with gold breaking decisively above $5,500 and reaching the $5,580/oz area. Today’s gain is around +3%, while YTD performance has surged to +29%, marking the strongest start to a year in more than three decades. The move is broad-based across precious metals - silver is up about 3% near $120, platinum gains roughly 3.5%, and palladium adds over 2%. Several major banks are now openly discussing $6,000/oz scenarios for 2026.

💵 FX: The US dollar has resumed its sell-off following the Fed decision. The dollar index is lower, EUR/USD is edging higher, while USD/JPY is slipping. The Australian dollar is the strongest G10 performer, supported by rising expectations of an RBA rate hike, stronger Australian trade data, and improved sentiment linked to China.

🌏 Asia-Pacific: Risk sentiment has improved after reports of easing regulatory pressure on Chinese property developers. Chinese equity indices are higher by around 0.9–1.6%, supporting regional equities and commodity-linked currencies.

🛢️ Oil: Crude prices remain firm, extending recent gains as geopolitical risks stay elevated and supply-side concerns continue to underpin the market.

🪙 Crypto: bitcoin is consolidating near recent highs in the upper-$80K area, as traders balance strong risk appetite against shifting expectations for US monetary policy.

💻 US tech highlights:

🚗 Tesla beat adjusted EPS expectations and surprised positively on margins, while announcing plans to phase out Model S and X production next quarter and retool the Fremont factory for humanoid robot manufacturing.

☁️ Microsoft delivered beats on both revenue and EPS, with cloud growth remaining a key driver and a very strong future revenue pipeline.

📱 Meta also beat expectations on revenue and earnings, supported by robust advertising performance, although losses at Reality Labs widened.

🗓️ Today’s key data:

🇪🇸 Retail Sales (December)

🇺🇸 Weekly Jobless Claims

🇺🇸 Durable Goods Orders (November)

⚡ What to watch: With gold at record highs and multiple asset classes moving in parallel, today’s US data could quickly reshape rate expectations and fuel further volatility.

📲 Stay sharp and trade smart with NordFX today.