Briefing.com Summary:
*The stock market saw large losses on Tuesday, yet there hasn’t been a rush to buy the dip.
*President Trump is giving a closely watched speech in Davos to the World Economic Forum.
*Netflix, Johnson & Johnson, Charles Schwab, and Travelers have seen a lackluster response to their earnings reports.
We closed yesterday’s column with a dangling thought as to whether traders would be committed to buying what was projected to be a large dip or if they would be content to sit things out for now given the swirl of the Greenland situation and rising interest rates around the world. In brief, they opted to sit things out.
The major indices suffered large losses in Tuesday’s trading and finished near their worst levels of the session. The wrinkle this morning is that there still isn’t any committed action to buy the dip.
Currently, the S&P 500 futures are flat and are trading in line with fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are down six points and are trading fractionally below fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 100 points and are trading 0.2% below fair value.
This lack of interest in buying the dip is a catalyst in and of itself, as it connotes a feeling that the market might be primed for further consolidation after a solid start to the year. Hence, there is a reticence at the moment to step up and buy the dip with conviction.
There is, of course, more to the story.
Participants are listening to President Trump’s speech in Davos to the World Economic Forum, where he is focusing on affordability and the economic success in the U.S., yet everyone is listening anxiously to what the president might also say about the U.S. position on Greenland and trade matters in general.
There is a bit of a wait-and-see mentality in the market, then, that is holding back buyers and sellers alike.
Other influences include a SCOTUS hearing on the firing of Fed Governor Lisa Cook, a lackluster response to earnings reports from Netflix (NFLX), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Travelers (TRV), and Charles Schwab (SCHW), and some speculation that a U.S.-led attack on Iran remains a possibility.
Gold futures are hitting record highs, the U.S. Dollar Index is softening, and Treasuries are not fetching any real safe-haven interest. The 10-yr note yield is down just one basis point to 4.29%.
What we have today is a market dealing with loose ends that have yet to be tied up.
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Originally Posted January 21, 2026 – Dealing with loose ends
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