Apple’s stock has fallen for eight consecutive trading days through Friday, closing at $257.07 and marking a 6.1% decline over that span. Evercore ISI kept its Outperform rating and raised its price target to $330 ahead of Apple’s January 29 earnings report, citing robust iPhone demand despite rising memory costs and mixed regional performance.

On Thursday, Terry Smith said his £16 billion Fundsmith Equity fund returned 0.8% in 2025, lagging the 12.8% global benchmark and 4.2% cash deposits. He cautioned investors not to expect annual outperformance and noted a 1.7% average yearly beat since 2010. Peer funds averaged 10.8%, according to Investment Association figures he cited.

TSMC reported NT$1.05 trillion ($33.1 billion) in revenue for the quarter ended December, surpassing the NT$1.02 trillion forecast and marking about a 20% increase. Demand for Nvidia's AI chips and Apple processors contributed to the strength. The company will hold its earnings call on January 15, when it is expected to outline a 2026 spending budget of at least $48 billion.

South Korea will introduce round-the-clock foreign exchange trading from July as part of a broader push to secure developed-market status from MSCI. Under President Lee Jae Myung, the KOSPI surged 76% last year, while officials also upgraded the country's 2026 growth forecast to 2.0% on expectations of stronger exports and domestic demand.

Francois Villeroy de Galhau of the ECB warned on January 6 in Paris that political attacks on Federal Reserve independence, fiscal doubts, and new trade barriers could undermine the US dollar's global role. He noted France's December 2025 inflation fell to 0.8%, and floated creating a euro-denominated safe asset amid a potential multi-currency landscape.

Nvidia plans to provide AI chips and autonomous driving software to robotaxi operators, with services targeted to launch in 2027. In a December San Francisco demo, a 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA drove itself about 90% of the time, while Nvidia reported $592 million in automotive and robotics revenue—around 1% of total sales—in the quarter ended in October.

Investment managers focused on climate technology plan to lift allocations in 2026 as financing costs ease and regulatory guidance firms up, while emphasizing profitability. AI-driven power demand and grid upgrades stand out, with US grid spending at $115 billion in 2025 and projected above $128 billion within two years. Nuclear draws mixed views despite a more than $6 billion fusion tie-up announced in December; alternative proteins face steep funding declines.

On January 4, 2026, EU officials signaled a 2026 pivot from rulemaking to strict enforcement of the DMA and DSA, according to Brussels lawmakers and officials. Last month, the European Commission fined X €120 million, prompting a U.S. visa ban on ex-Commissioner Thierry Breton and others and renewed tariff threats from President Donald Trump's team. Apple, Meta, and Google face fresh probes and push back against the rules.

Updated January 4, 2026, Wall Street banks forecast the S&P 500 to end the year between 7,100 and 7,600, implying gains of 3.7% to 11%. This follows a 16% rise in 2025 and comes as valuations reach 22 times forward earnings, near levels seen around the 2000 dot-com peak.