January kept investors on their toes, as markets swung from optimism to fear of AI’s seismic shift in tech valuations and now delayed US tariffs on NAFTA members.

The Fed doubled down on its fight against inflation, while the ECB prioritised growth and cut rates despite stagnation. Markets revolved around Trump’s tariff announcements (delayed but not discarded) and gold surged 6.5% as a barometer of uncertainty.

The DeepSeek shockwave dominated the tech narrative – a $6m open-source AI model upended assumptions about R&D moats, triggering the erosion of $600bn of NVIDIA’s market cap overnight. This isn’t just a stock story, it’s a structural shift that could democratise AI while putting chipmakers under pressure.

Europe’s political fractures have deepened, with France and Germany facing leadership vacuums ahead of critical elections. Coupled with Trump’s sword of Damocles hanging over EU exports, the bloc’s growth prospects dimmed further.

We hope you enjoy reading and find these updates helpful for the month ahead.