Today: 26 April 2026

Lithium price slips in China as Albemarle, SQM stocks edge up premarket — what to watch next

Lithium price slips in China as Albemarle, SQM stocks edge up premarket — what to watch next

Albemarle rose 2.4% and Lithium Americas jumped 4.9% in U.S. premarket trading, while China’s battery-grade lithium carbonate price slipped 500 yuan to 172,000 yuan per ton. Chile’s SQM finalized its merger with Codelco’s lithium unit after a Supreme Court ruling. Sigma Lithium sold 100,000 metric tons of ore and is restarting its mine this month.
Brent oil price steadies near 4-month high after U.S. storm hits exports; OPEC+ and inventories next

Brent oil price steadies near 4-month high after U.S. storm hits exports; OPEC+ and inventories next

Brent crude fell 39 cents to $67.18 a barrel Wednesday, after storm outages cut U.S. production by up to 2 million barrels per day and disrupted Gulf Coast exports. Kazakhstan’s Tengiz field is restarting after a fire, with officials targeting full output within a week. The U.S. plans to ease some sanctions on Venezuela’s energy sector, potentially increasing heavy crude flows to Gulf Coast refiners. The dollar index remains near four-year lows.
28 January 2026
Wall Street’s Fed Day: US stock futures rise as traders eye today’s economic calendar and Big Tech earnings

Wall Street’s Fed Day: US stock futures rise as traders eye today’s economic calendar and Big Tech earnings

S&P 500 E-minis rose 0.36% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis gained 0.9% premarket, led by chipmakers after Texas Instruments’ upbeat outlook. Nvidia, Intel, and Seagate advanced. Tuesday, the S&P 500 closed at a record high while health insurer stocks slumped on weak Medicare payment news. The Fed is expected to hold rates steady later Wednesday.
Oil prices hover near four-month high after U.S. storm froze exports; inventories and OPEC+ next

Oil prices hover near four-month high after U.S. storm froze exports; inventories and OPEC+ next

Brent crude fell 35 cents to $67.22 a barrel premarket Wednesday, while WTI slipped 21 cents to $62.18, easing after a storm-driven rally. U.S. crude exports dropped to zero Sunday before rebounding to 4.4 million barrels per day Monday as Gulf Coast ports reopened. Kazakhstan’s Tengiz field remains under force majeure with output recovery slower than expected. Traders await U.S. inventory data and the Feb. 1 OPEC+ meeting.
28 January 2026
Mortgage rates today hover near 6% ahead of Fed decision as housing stocks wobble

Mortgage rates today hover near 6% ahead of Fed decision as housing stocks wobble

Mortgage rates hovered near 6% early Wednesday, with Zillow showing a 30-year fixed at 5.99%. Homebuilder stocks fell before the open, with ITB down 1.3% and XHB off 1.2%. SFS Corp, linked to UWM CEO Mat Ishbia, sold nearly 1.9 million UWM shares last week. The Fed is expected to hold rates steady at its policy meeting Wednesday.
Silver price today: XAG/USD near $113 after record run as Fed decision looms

Silver price today: XAG/USD near $113 after record run as Fed decision looms

Spot silver slipped 0.2% to $112.82 an ounce Wednesday, after hitting a record $117.69 on Monday. The CME raised margin requirements on Comex silver futures following sharp price swings and record trading volumes. The dollar hovered near four-year lows ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision later today. Silver-linked stocks and Indian silver imports also jumped amid volatility.
S&P 500 futures edge up before Fed decision as Texas Instruments pops on AI data-center demand

S&P 500 futures edge up before Fed decision as Texas Instruments pops on AI data-center demand

S&P 500 futures rose 0.32% and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.72% early Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision and major tech earnings. Texas Instruments jumped about 9% premarket after strong AI-driven results, while Seagate Technology climbed on robust cloud demand. The S&P 500 closed Tuesday at 6,978.60, up 0.41%. Investors remain focused on Fed signals for rate cuts later this year.
Dow Jones today: Dow futures inch up as Fed decision and Big Tech earnings loom

Dow Jones today: Dow futures inch up as Fed decision and Big Tech earnings loom

Dow futures rose about 30 points ahead of the Fed’s policy decision, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures also up. Health insurers slumped after U.S. officials proposed a 0.09% Medicare Advantage payment hike, far below expectations. The Dow fell 409 points Tuesday, dragged by UnitedHealth, Humana, and CVS losses, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit records on tech gains. Microsoft and Meta will report earnings Wednesday.
AI stocks are moving before the bell: Nvidia rises as Microsoft, Meta earnings loom

AI stocks are moving before the bell: Nvidia rises as Microsoft, Meta earnings loom

Nvidia rose 1.7% and Intel jumped 6.6% in premarket trading Wednesday, leading gains among chip stocks. Microsoft and Meta are set to report earnings after the bell, with investors focused on AI spending and margins. ASML raised its 2026 sales forecast after strong bookings but announced 1,700 job cuts. SK Hynix posted record quarterly profit on surging demand for AI server memory.
FTSE 100 today slips as pound jumps and gold hits $5,300; Marston’s dives

FTSE 100 today slips as pound jumps and gold hits $5,300; Marston’s dives

FTSE 100 fell 0.3% to 10,177.85 as a stronger pound hit overseas earners. Gold reached a record above $5,300 an ounce, boosting miners, while Marston’s dropped up to 16% on flat 17-week sales. Traders awaited the U.S. Fed’s policy decision later Wednesday. Oil prices eased but held near four-month highs after U.S. supply disruptions.
Australia stock market today: ASX 200 snaps winning streak as inflation jolts RBA rate-hike bets

Australia stock market today: ASX 200 snaps winning streak as inflation jolts RBA rate-hike bets

Australian shares ended lower Wednesday, with the S&P/ASX 200 down 0.09% after inflation data showed annual CPI at 3.8%. Swaps now price a 73% chance of a February rate hike. Electricity prices surged 21.5% over the year. The Australian dollar hovered near 69.9 U.S. cents late in the session.
India stock market today: Nifty, Sensex end higher on EU trade deal buzz and budget positioning

India stock market today: Nifty, Sensex end higher on EU trade deal buzz and budget positioning

Nifty 50 rose 0.66% and Sensex gained 0.60% at Wednesday’s close, marking a second straight day of gains. Defence, infrastructure, and energy stocks led advances ahead of the Feb. 1 budget. Oil India surged 9.6% and Bharat Electronics hit a record after strong earnings. The rupee edged lower as traders watched for the U.S. Fed decision.
IREN Limited stock price hovers near $60 premarket after 15% jump; earnings ahead

IREN Limited stock price hovers near $60 premarket after 15% jump; earnings ahead

IREN Limited shares rose 0.4% to $60.24 in premarket trading Wednesday after surging 14.6% the previous day on heavy volume. The company recently secured a $9.7 billion deal with Microsoft to supply Nvidia-based cloud capacity, with deployments set for its Texas campus through 2026. IREN will report quarterly results on Feb. 5. The stock remains volatile amid rising bitcoin prices and AI infrastructure investments.
Nvidia stock jumps premarket as China clears H200 chip buys for ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent

Nvidia stock jumps premarket as China clears H200 chip buys for ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent

Nvidia shares rose 1.6% to $191.45 premarket after China approved the purchase of over 400,000 H200 AI chips for ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent, sources said. The licenses include restrictions and some buyers have not placed orders yet. Traders are watching the Fed’s decision and tech earnings for signs on AI spending. Microsoft unveiled a new in-house AI chip, increasing competition for Nvidia.
28 January 2026
Seagate stock jumps in premarket after earnings beat and upbeat outlook on AI storage demand

Seagate stock jumps in premarket after earnings beat and upbeat outlook on AI storage demand

Seagate shares jumped 11.6% in premarket trading Wednesday after the company reported fiscal second-quarter revenue of $2.83 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $3.11, both above estimates. The company forecast third-quarter revenue of $2.90 billion, beating consensus. Seagate will pay a $0.74 dividend on April 8 to shareholders of record March 25. The stock closed Tuesday at $407.97, up nearly 10%.

Stock Market Today

  • Netflix Shifts Focus From Growth to Profitability, Targeting 31.5% Operating Margin by 2026
    April 26, 2026, 8:58 AM EDT. Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is marking a strategic pivot from aggressive subscriber growth to prioritizing profitability and sustainable cash flow. The company aims for a 31.5% operating margin by 2026, signaling maturity akin to consumer staple firms known for solid financials. Netflix's decision to walk away from a merger with Warner Bros. Discovery showed a renewed focus on protecting margins and balance sheet strength over expansion at any cost. Leadership changes, with co-founder Reed Hastings stepping down, clear the path for profit-focused CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters to steer Netflix into a new era. Investors should watch operating margins as a key metric, not subscriber counts, highlighting Netflix's transformation into a discretionary blue chip stock.

Latest article

XRP ETFs Hit $1.53 Billion as Bitwise Pulls Ahead, but the Chart Has a Catch

XRP ETFs Hit $1.53 Billion as Bitwise Pulls Ahead, but the Chart Has a Catch

26 April 2026
New York, April 26, 2026, 09:04 EDT Bitwise drew the entire $6.4382 million of net inflows into U.S. spot XRP products on April 24, the latest sign that issuer-by-issuer competition is tightening even as the token trades sideways. SoSoValue data cited by PANews showed the inflow lifted Bitwise’s historical total to $426 million, while U.S. spot XRP ETFs stood at $1.095 billion in net assets and $1.291 billion in cumulative net inflows. (PANews) The timing matters because the ETF tape is stronger than the coin tape. XRP was near $1.43 early Sunday, down 0.53% over 24 hours, with a market
Microsoft vs Oracle vs Google Stock: Price Forecasts Reveal a Split in the AI Cloud Race

Microsoft vs Oracle vs Google Stock: Price Forecasts Reveal a Split in the AI Cloud Race

26 April 2026
Microsoft, Alphabet, and Oracle shares closed at $424.62, $344.40, and $173.28, respectively, ahead of earnings reports expected Wednesday. Analysts see a bigger earnings test for Microsoft, more upside potential for Oracle, and less room for Alphabet after its recent gains. Investors are watching capital spending on AI and cloud infrastructure. Options pricing suggests a possible 6% move for Microsoft and 5% for Alphabet after results.
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