Stock Market Summary – January 21, 2026

In the stock markets today, Intel stock surged by around 11% to the highest level since January 2022, ahead of the company’s earnings announcement, driven by increasing optimism around sales of its server chips. It brought the total increase to 149% over the last 12 months. Strong demand for its server chips among AI infrastructure companies contributed to this optimism.

Netflix shares dropped about 7.5% following the company’s announcement of a softer margin guidance and a pause in buybacks to save cash for its bid to purchase Warner Bros Discovery. Q4 profit and revenue did beat estimates, however, the new guidance led to a number of price target cuts from analysts.

Other chip stocks such as Advanced Micro Devices and Micron Technology also rose by about 8% and 7% respectively. On the other hand, Johnson & Johnson’s stock fell about 3.5%, despite reporting strong Q4 of 2025 results, and beating full-year 2026 guidance.

In other news, President Donald Trump claimed to have defeated inflation in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He said that the U.S. has “virtually no inflation.” However, economists state that inflation is still “uncomfortably high” at around 2.6%, contradicting the claim of “virtually no inflation.” Furthermore, the average consumer is anticipated to pay $1,300 to $1,700 more in tariffs in 2026 compared with before Trump took office in 2025.

Speaking about tax breaks, President Trump claimed that his “big beautiful bill” has caused no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security for seniors. These tax breaks do not entirely eliminate tax obligations and are active from 2025 through 2028. More details are required to be eligible for these breaks, for instance, the breaks apply to “qualified tips” and “qualified overtime pay” only.