On Wednesday, January 28, 2026, the financial world saw a day packed with milestones, surprises, and a fair bit of head-scratching as both Wall Street and global commodities markets reacted to new signals from the Federal Reserve and ongoing economic uncertainties. The S&P 500, a bellwether for U.S. equities, reached an unprecedented intraday high of 7,002.28 before pulling back, while gold prices soared past $5,300 per ounce for the first time in history, according to Reuters and CNBC.
The day started with optimism on Wall Street. The S&P 500 advanced 0.3% to its all-time high, though it later hovered near the flatline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was also flat, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite inched up 0.3%. Much of the early rally was driven by surging chip stocks, thanks to robust earnings reports and mounting demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. Seagate Technology, for example, saw its shares leap 20% after the company’s second-quarter earnings and revenue outperformed analyst expectations. CEO Dave Mosley attributed the strong results to “unprecedented demand for artificial intelligence data storage.”
Meanwhile, ASML, a semiconductor equipment giant, reported record orders and issued a bullish outlook for 2026 on the back of the AI boom. However, the company’s shares reversed their gains later in the session. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) climbed more than 2%, notching a new 52-week high, as other semiconductor names like Micron Technology and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing also saw their stocks rise. Nvidia shares gained over 1% after Reuters reported that China had approved ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent to purchase Nvidia’s H200 AI chips, a move that could further stoke global demand for advanced semiconductors.
Yet, as the Federal Reserve released its latest policy statement, the early exuberance faded. The central bank opted to keep its benchmark interest rate steady at a target range of 3.5% to 3.75%. Treasury yields edged higher following the announcement, reflecting investors’ caution. The Fed’s statement described the U.S. economy as “expanding at a solid pace” and noted that unemployment had “shown some signs of stabilization.”
During his press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated, “I think, and many of my colleagues think, it’s hard to look at the incoming data and say the policy is significantly restrictive at this time.” He added that inflation in December 2025 was likely still well above the central bank’s 2% target—a point that kept markets guessing about the timing of future rate cuts. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, traders now expect two quarter percentage point cuts by the end of 2026, but the Fed’s statement gave little indication of when borrowing costs might actually come down.
There was some dissent within the Fed itself. Both Governor Christopher Waller—a contender to replace Powell when his term ends in May—and Governor Stephen Miran, currently on leave from the White House, favored an immediate quarter-point rate cut. “Markets are just oscillating after the Fed statement... No suggestion that the Fed is in any hurry to move again,” metals trader Tai Wong told Reuters.
This uncertainty sent ripples through global commodities markets, where gold’s safe-haven appeal was on full display. Spot gold surged 2.2% to $5,301.60 an ounce by mid-afternoon, after touching a record $5,325.56. U.S. gold futures for February settled even higher, up 4.3% at $5,303.60. Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals, observed, “The rally in the precious metals have kind of taken on a life of their own at this point.” He cautioned that gold remains “overbought and vulnerable to a correction, but strong buying interest during dips continues to favor the upside, with the next target projected at $5,400.”
Gold has gained more than 20% since the start of 2026, building on record gains from the previous year. The precious metal’s ascent was matched by silver, which rose 0.7% to $113.78 an ounce after hitting a record high of $117.69 earlier in the week. Silver prices are up nearly 60% so far this year, though Standard Chartered analysts warned that “a number of silver indicators suggest prices may be due a correction in the short term.”
Other metals followed suit, albeit with mixed results. Platinum fell 1% to $2,612.81 after peaking at $2,918.80, while palladium jumped 3.9% to $2,009.69. The surge in precious metals was not lost on the cryptocurrency sector, either. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced plans to allocate 10%–15% of the company’s investment portfolio to physical gold, adding to the bullion that already backs some of its products.
As markets digested the Fed’s stance and the commodities rally, traders kept a close eye on the next round of corporate earnings. Microsoft, Meta Platforms, and Tesla were all due to report their quarterly results after the closing bell, with Apple scheduled to follow on Thursday. Outside the tech sector, Starbucks reported that its first-quarter revenue beat expectations and that its store traffic grew for the first time in two years, offering a glimmer of hope for consumer-facing businesses.
Still, the broader equity rally failed to extend much beyond chipmakers. As Jed Ellerbroek of Argent Capital Management explained to CNBC, “The story for 2023, 2024, most of 2025 was AI-related semiconductors—awesome, great demand. All the other semiconductor-demand sources, whether that be auto or industrial or telecom, etc.—weak. That has shifted now. Demand is well in excess of supply really everywhere at this point within semiconductors.”
Amid all the market drama, political uncertainty added another layer of suspense. U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters he would soon announce his pick to replace Jerome Powell as Fed Chair, a decision that could shape monetary policy for years to come.
With inflation still running hot, the Fed holding steady, and markets swinging between exuberance and caution, investors are left to navigate a landscape where both risk and opportunity abound. Whether gold’s rally will persist, and how quickly the Fed might pivot to rate cuts, remain open questions. But for now, both Wall Street and Main Street are watching every move with bated breath.
The day’s events, from record highs in equities and gold to the Fed’s carefully measured words, underscore just how intertwined global markets have become—and how even a hint of policy change can send shockwaves from New York to Shanghai.