Despite being only four days long due to the MLK holiday Monday, the current week has been another volatile one, and, heading into Friday, there's a good chance the major stock indices will close well below where they ended the week prior.
Through Thursday's closing bell, the Dow is up a meager 24.68 points, the NASDAQ is down 79.37, and the S&P is off 26.66.
Futures are pointing to a red open while the main catalyst that moved stocks in both directions - Greenland and all that's related to it - remains shrouded in mystery. President Trump declared victory on Wednesday, saying something along the lines of an agreement on a framework had been reached. Stock algorithms reacted in a positive manner, sending prices across markets higher, but, as details began to emerge, Thursday's trading was a bit less enthusiastic.
What Trump referred to was a negotiated agreement between his administration and NATO on securing the rights to have bases on the world's largest island. There was no consultation or involvement with either the government of Greenland or Denmark or the inhabitants on the island itself. The U.S. already has a base on Greenland, Pituffik Space Base, formerly known as Thule Air Base that has been operational since 1951 under a NATO framework. It's being assumed that the same kind of agreement - or one similar to Britain's bases on Cyprus, in which the bases are sovereign soil of Great Britain - is going to be worked out in coming days, weeks or months.
The opportunity to operate and/or expand military bases on Greenland was never a part of Trump's quest. He claimed to have wanted the whole island to become U.S. property. Simple negotiations with Denmark probably could have secured the deal that's currently being formulated, but that would not have generated the kind of headlines and swashbuckling image that President Trump and his insider traders preferred. As Trump returned to U.S. soil from his forays at the WEF, the world, Greenland, and stocks are back about where they started.
Stock futures are expressing a bit of regret an hour prior to the open. Dow futures are down 156; NASDAQ futures are off 57 points, and S&P futures are lower by about 10 points.
Reporting fourth quarter results after the close Thursday, Intel (INTC) posted a net loss of $600 million, or 12 cents per diluted share. In the year-ago period, Intel reported a net loss of $100 million, or 3 cents per share. The company also issued soft guidance for rhe first quarter of 2026, sending shares down by as much as 17%.
Capital One (COF) announced earnings per share (EPS) of $3.86, short of the $4.12 expected on Wall Street. Revenue in the quarter totaled $15.58 billion, which exceeded the $15.37 billion consensus forecast of analysts. Shares were down about two percent Friday morning prior to the open.
For its full fiscal year, Capital One reported a profit of $2.45 billion, or $4.03 per share on revenue of $53.43 billion. The company recently completed its $35.30 billion all-stock purchase of former rival Discover Financial Services.
Capital One also announced its acquisition of startup Brex for $5.15 billion, in a 50% cash and 50% stock transaction. Brex is an AI-powered financial technology platform that provides corporate credit cards, expense management, and business accounts for other startups.
While stocks may start out lower on Friday, they may get a boost via rumors or headlines during the day, though it appears the markets are running on fumes presently with the majors close to all-time highs but in need of a catalyst. There aren't any big names reporting earnings on Friday, though next week will be loaded. That's also no guarantee. Stocks that have reported this week and demonstrated solid earnings, like 3M (MMM), DR Horton (DHI), Netflix (NFLX), Ally (ALLY), have sold off.
Among the bright spots were Travelers (TRV), which helped boost the Dow higher, Charles Schwab (SCHW), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and Proctor Gamble (PG). Stock pickers are becoming more discerning on earnings reports with stocks already juiced.
The big story - and one that still isn't getting the amount of coverage it deserves - is in precious metals. Spot silver, as of a half hour before the stock market open, is 50 cents short of $100/ounce. Gold has had another remarkable week, currently sitting at $4938, though it was as high as $4968 earlier Friday morning. Year-to-date - and mind you, this is less than three full weeks in - gold is up 13%, silver, +40%. If those were stocks, there would be open-to-close coverage of them on CNBC, Fox Business, and Bloomberg, but, since they're considered either pet rocks or barbarous relics on Wall Street, crickets.
Keep stacking.
Editor's Note: Since Money Daily HQ is located in the path of the ice storm Mother Nature has planned for the weekend, there's a high expectation that a power outage will occur and could last days. So, in case Sunday's WEEKEND WRAP doesn't appear before 1:00 pm ET, that would be the likely expectations. Stay safe, everybody!
At the Close, Thursday, January 22, 2026:
Dow: 49,384.01, +306.78 (+0.63%)
NASDAQ: 23,436.02, +211.20 (+0.91%)
S&P 500: 6,913.35, +37.73 (+0.55%)
NYSE Composite: 22,797.17, +70.67 (+0.31%)
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