NEW YORK, Jan 13, 2026, 07:14 EST
- Global central bank chiefs back Powell after U.S. indictment threat; U.S. index futures edge down before December CPI.
- Gold touched a record above $4,600 on Monday as the dollar index slid 0.34%.
- JPMorgan profit falls on one-time Apple Card deal charge; banks warn Trump’s 10% credit-card rate cap could curb lending.
U.S. stock index futures dipped on Tuesday after the heads of the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and nine other central banks issued a rare joint statement backing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. At 5:09 a.m. ET, S&P 500 e-minis were down 0.14% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis fell 0.24%, pointing to a softer open as traders braced for U.S. inflation data expected to show consumer prices accelerated in December.
Powell said the Justice Department served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas on Friday, threatening a criminal indictment tied to his Senate testimony last June over a $2.5 billion renovation of Fed buildings in Washington. He called the move “pretexts” aimed at winning presidential influence over interest rates, with his term as chair due to end in May. Reuters
The timing matters because investors are trying to price the next move in borrowing costs, and the Fed sets the tone for everything from mortgages to corporate loans. A central bank that looks politically boxed in can change how people think about inflation, the dollar and what counts as “safe” in a panic.
On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 0.16% and the Dow gained 0.17% to record closes, with lenders and card firms lagging after Trump called for a 10% cap on credit card rates. The dollar index fell 0.34% to 98.90 and spot gold touched a record above $4,600 an ounce before easing, while the 10-year Treasury yield ended around 4.189%. “This just ended the dollar’s New Year bounce,” Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex in New York, said. Reuters
Banks and payments groups spent Monday pushing back on Trump’s proposed one-year cap on credit card interest rates at 10%, arguing it would choke off credit. The Electronic Payments Coalition said nearly every account with a credit score below 740 would be closed or severely restricted under a 10% cap, and its executive chairman Richard Hunt said the idea “wouldn’t help Americans.” Morningstar analyst Michael Miller wrote that a cap was unlikely, but “dire” for credit card profitability if enacted. Reuters
JPMorgan Chase reported fourth-quarter profit fell to $13 billion, or $4.63 a share, after a one-time charge tied to its agreement with Goldman Sachs to take over Apple’s credit card partnership. Excluding the charge, JPMorgan said profit rose to $14.7 billion, or $5.23 a share, helped by trading.
But investors say the Powell dispute risks damage that doesn’t show up in one session if it pushes up inflation expectations or chips away at the dollar’s safe-haven role, driving long-term yields higher. “Pouring gasoline everywhere and then playing with matches tends not to work out well,” Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay, said, warning of “unintended consequences” from leaning on the Fed. Christopher Hodge, chief U.S. economist at Natixis, said markets have shrugged off Fed-independence noise before, “but at some point things will break.” Reuters
Gold, the dollar and Treasuries are doing the early talking again, as they tend to when investors are unsure whether the story is politics or policy. For now, stocks are still behaving like earnings and rate cuts can drown out almost anything.
