U.S. equities posted their worst week since October as a historic surge in oil prices fueled by the escalating Iran conflict rattled investor sentiment and revived inflation fears. While the U.S. continued to dominate the military balance over the past week, what remains of the Iranian regime is increasingly wounded and unpredictable, sowing chaos in global energy markets. Oil prices surged to the highest level since 2024 on concerns over long-term disruptions to the Hormuz Strait - the critical energy chokepoint that handles one-fifth of global oil trade.

U.S. equity markets slumped this week - while interest rates tumbled to multi-year lows- as investors weighed unresolved AI questions and a flight to safety sparked by escalating Middle East tensions. The defensive "risk-off" posture took sharper relevance over the weekend after a dramatic U.S.-led strike of Iranian leadership that sought to topple the Islamic regime. The S&P 500 slipped 0.6%, while Small-Caps slid nearly 2%. The policy-sensitive 2-Year Treasury Yield dipped to the lowest level since August 2022. Oil prices swelled to seven-month highs.

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U.S. equity markets advanced this week as investors parsed a deluge of headlines, including a major Supreme Court tariff ruling, escalating Middle East tensions, soft economic data, and hawkish Fed-speak. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to restrict the President's authority to impose broader tariffs under the IEEPA framework, a widely expected move that was quickly countered by the White House. Investors also shrugged off renewed tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which sent oil prices to seven-month highs. The S&P 500 advanced 1.1% - its best weekly gains since early January.

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: AGNCO - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 0% on Friday. The stock traded as low as $25.44 and last traded at $25.48. Approximately 16,243 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 22,175 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.49. AGNC Investment

U.S. equity markets diverged sharply as cooling labor data revived Fed rate-cut expectations, accelerating a value rotation and pressuring growth amid scrutiny and an unwind of the dollar debasement trade. With the January BLS payrolls report delayed, investors instead reacted to softer-than-expected JOLTS, ADP, Challenger, and initial claims data, interrupting a stretch of resilient economic releases and tempering risk sentiment. Meanwhile, the busiest week of corporate earnings season raised questions around where long-term value from booming AI spending ultimately accrues, both within the AI ecosystem and across the broader economy.

Key Themes To Watch This REIT Earnings Season

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: AGNCO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 8,470 shares, a decline of 47.3% from the December 31st total of 16,073 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 20,299 shares,

AGNC Investment Corp. (AGNC) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

Ahead of the Fed meeting, U.S. equity markets declined modestly this week as investors navigated a fresh bout of global rate volatility amid headline churn out of Davos and Japan. Markets drew relief from de-escalation in the Greenland saga, as the White House backed away from military and tariff threats after agreeing to a NATO framework enabling expanded U.S. influence. Speculation ramped up around the next Fed Chair, with BlackRock's Rick Rieder suddenly viewed as the betting favorite, a candidate that markets view as a pragmatic and more centrist alternative.