US Stocks Rally Ahead of Fed Decision; Amazon to Cut 16,000 Jobs | Bloomberg Brief 1/28/2026
Speakers
Chloe Meley
— Reporter, Bloomberg
Charlotte Hughes-Morgan
— Bloomberg Reporter
Ven Ram
— Markets Live Reporter/Strategist, Bloomberg
Andrew Hollenhorst
— Chief Economist, Piper Sandler
Mandeep Singh
— Senior Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence
Vonnie Quinn
— Anchor, Bloomberg
Robert Kaplan
— Vice Chair, Goldman Sachs; former President, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Rosa Prince
— Editor, CoinDesk
Summary
U.S. stocks rallied ahead of the Fed decision, helped by ASML's record AI-driven orders and a busy earnings day. The dollar steadied after a sharp drop tied to President Trump's comments, while gold traded near records. Citi's Andrew Hollenhorst outlined expectations for further rate cuts this year, and Amazon confirmed about 16,000 job cuts.
- U.S. equity futures rose after the S&P 500 hit a record high and ASML reported record orders.
- Texas Instruments, Seagate, and Lam Research were highlighted as positive movers or read-across beneficiaries.
- The dollar stabilized after its biggest drop since April following Trump's comments on currency weakness.
- Gold was near record levels, with Ven Ram seeing a weaker dollar supporting further momentum.
- Ven Ram also favored undervalued U.K. stocks as a non-AI value market.
- Citi's Andrew Hollenhorst expects 75 basis points of Fed cuts in March, July, and September.
- Meta, Microsoft, Tesla, and IBM were among the major companies reporting earnings, while Amazon confirmed 16,000 layoffs.
- Starbucks and AT&T were among pre-market reporters, and the Fed decision was the main macro event.
Ideas
TI outlook points to industrial recovery.
Texas Instruments reported a surprisingly positive outlook, which suggests industrial and automotive customers are buying and investing again after clearing inventory. Because TI is often seen as a barometer for the wider economy, the upbeat forecast points positively for the company and the broader cycle.
Seagate benefits from data center demand.
Seagate reported earnings ahead of expectations and issued an upbeat outlook due to strong demand for data center equipment, part of a broader rally in storage stocks; the shares were up more than 10%, supporting a bullish read on the name.
Lam benefits from ASML read-across.
Lam Research is benefiting from the positive read-across from ASML's strong orders and outlook, as AI-driven semiconductor capex supports demand for semiconductor equipment. The stock was up ahead of earnings.
ASML orders surge on sustained AI demand.
ASML delivered a record quarter with bookings well above expectations, driven by unabated AI demand. It is the only company capable of producing cutting-edge lithography machines for the most sophisticated AI chips, and major chipmakers including TSMC, Samsung, and Intel have turned more positive on medium-term AI, prompting capacity and capex increases that translate into strong ASML orders and a 2026 outlook above estimates.
Weak dollar fuels gold momentum.
Gold has its own momentum, and weakness in the dollar should feed into it because the policy administration's stance and corporate hedging of dollar exposure are likely to keep the dollar on the back foot. Ven Ram expects gold to continue finding momentum, even if a weaker dollar and stronger gold become uncomfortable for many.
Dollar stays weak on policy mix.
The U.S. administration wants a weaker currency to close deficits and boost exports, while the ECB is worried about euro strength and may ease further if the euro appreciates. With both sides resisting a strong currency and corporates likely to hedge dollar exposure, Ven Ram expects the dollar to remain on the back foot for at least the next quarter.
UK stocks cheap, non-AI refuge.
U.K. stocks are cheap and undervalued, offering a 6% earnings yield, the highest among developed markets he can think of. The FTSE's fair value is above current levels, and its lack of AI exposure is an advantage as investors rotate away from crowded AI trades toward markets with non-AI exposure and steady earnings growth.
Citi sees 75 basis points of cuts.
Citi expects labor markets to loosen gradually and inflation to slow, with 75 basis points of further Fed rate cuts this year in March, July, and September. Hollenhorst also expects the unemployment rate to rise gradually because hiring is slow, which would lead the Fed to cut further if labor-market concerns grow, supporting duration.
Meta AI spend lacks visible monetization.
Meta wants to compete through its Superintelligence unit, but it has been the weakest at showing monetization from its AI spending. The market may be less willing to give Meta a pass for that spending, making the earnings reaction and AI-spend payback a key risk.
Microsoft cloud growth should accelerate.
Microsoft has been upfront in showing the AI contribution to Azure growth, and its OpenAI relationship is expected to last at least the next five years. Its cloud business, with 40% growth, should accelerate this quarter, so Mandeep Singh sees Microsoft as fundamentally fine ahead of earnings.
Amazon cloud faces AI competition test.
Amazon remains the largest public cloud provider, but investors will focus on revenue per employee and how efficiently Amazon can retrofit its infrastructure for AI while protecting cloud share. It is trailing rivals such as Google in custom chips, and neoclouds are adding AI-infrastructure competition, so streamlining operations is likely the first step in an important margin and share battle.
SoftBank OpenAI bet raises funding worries.
SoftBank's reported additional $30B investment in OpenAI appears tied to Project Stargate and may require selling its Nvidia stake, making the funding source a key question. OpenAI's consumer MAU growth has slowed and competition from Anthropic and Google has increased, raising doubts about SoftBank's large bet.
Up Next
This Bloomberg Markets video, published January 28, 2026, features Chloe Meley, Charlotte Hughes-Morgan, Ven Ram, Andrew Hollenhorst, Mandeep Singh discussing TXN, STX, LRCX, ASML, GLD, UUP, EWU, TLT, META, MSFT, AMZN, SFTBY. 12 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.
Speakers: Chloe Meley, Charlotte Hughes-Morgan, Ven Ram, Andrew Hollenhorst, Mandeep Singh · Tickers: TXN, STX, LRCX, ASML, GLD, UUP, EWU, TLT, META, MSFT, AMZN, SFTBY