FINANCIAL BLOG

The melt‑up in the metals market that defined 2025 has extended its strength into the early weeks of the new year, reinforcing the commodity sector’s position as one of the leading asset classes across global markets. To the surprise of most, gold outperformed the broader equity market for a third consecutive year, surging roughly 65% in 2025 and far exceeding the S&P 500’s gains.

LPL Research provides its Weekly Market Performance for the week of January 12, 2026. Stocks ended slightly lower this week as investors digested an array of headlines ranging from fresh earnings reports, geopolitical developments, rotation dynamics, and remarks from central bank officials. Big tech strength in the latter half of the week helped cap losses following strong quarterly results from one of Asia’s most valuable companies, Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM).

Fourth quarter earnings season unofficially kicks off this week with a dozen banks and asset managers in the S&P 500 slated to report. Results will come from some big names, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM) on Tuesday; Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Citigroup (C) on Wednesday; and Blackrock (BLK), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Morgan Stanley (MS) on Thursday.