US STOCKS-US stocks set for sluggish start with Big Tech results, Fed decision on deck

By Pranav Kashyap and Twesha Dikshit

Jan 26 (Reuters) - Wall Street is poised to open little changed on Monday, as investors braced for a heavyweight run of earnings along with a closely watched Federal Reserve monetary policy decision later in the week.

Gold vaulted to a record high above $5,000 an ounce, boosting U.S.-listed shares of gold miners in premarket trade. Gold Fields GFI.N was up 4.8%, while Harmony Gold HMY.N and Newmont NEM.N gained over 4% each.

With silver also trading at all-time highs, uncertainty lingered even as equities tried to find their footing.

"As long as fiscal dominance, geopolitical fragmentation and central bank credibility remain in question, precious metals are likely to stay at the center of this perfect storm, not just as hedges, but as alternatives," said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.

Stocks clawed back some losses last week after Trump dialed down tariff threats against the European Union over the Greenland dispute, but all three major indexes still finished the week lower.

At 08:20 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis YMcv1 were up 36 points, or 0.07%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 1.5 points, or 0.01%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were down 37.75 points, or 0.15%.

MAG 7: THE NEXT STRESS TEST

Earnings shift to a higher gear this week, with 102 companies of the S&P 500 scheduled to report. Four members of the "Magnificent 7" - Apple AAPL.O, Microsoft MSFT.O, Meta META.O and Tesla TSLA.O - are set to post results, setting up a key test for a market still priced for strong earnings growth.

Of the 64 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings as of Friday, 79.7% beat analyst expectations, as per data compiled by LSEG.

Investors will look for signs of companies showing measurable payoffs from their AI spending. With concerns over high valuations in the tech space, guidance will be especially important and even a modest stumble could spark a rethink about the AI trade.

Intel INTC.O shares were down 1.6%, following a sharp selloff on Friday, its steepest drop in nearly 18 months after it forecast quarterly profit and revenue below estimates.

FEDERAL RESERVE RATE DECISION

The U.S. central bank begins its two-day meeting on Tuesday, with investors broadly expecting officials to hold rates steady.

However, the meeting will likely be overshadowed by concerns over threats to the central bank's independence given the backdrop of a Department of Justice probe on Chair Jerome Powell this month. Trump had recently said a decision on a nominee for the next Chair could come soon.

The risk of a partial U.S. government shutdown is also on the horizon ahead of the January 30 funding deadline, as a second fatal shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis sharpens scrutiny of Trump's immigration crackdown. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said his party would oppose legislation that includes funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

Shares of USA Rare Earth USAR.O jumped 20.8% after reports the U.S. administration was taking a 10% stake in the miner as part of a $1.6 billion debt-and-equity investment package.

Other miners also gained, with United States Antimony UAMY.K rising 8.6%, while MP Materials MP.N added 4% and Critical Metals CRML.O rose 3.4%.

Among other stock moves, CoreWeave CRWV.O jumped 10.6% after Nvidia said it would invest $2 billion in the cloud infrastructure firm.