US stocks closed higher with the S&P 500 climbing 0.7% to a record high, while the Nasdaq 100 gained 1.4%, and the Dow advanced 150 points on Wednesday, buoyed by robust earnings and promising corporate developments, as markets evaluated the implications of President Trump’s policy shifts. Netflix soared 9.7% after reporting a record surge in new subscribers. Also, Procter & Gamble added 1.9% on strong quarterly results. Oracle surged 6.7%, contributing to a nearly 20% weekly rise after announcing a joint venture with SoftBank and OpenAI tied to a $500 billion AI investment initiative. Nvidia rose 4.4%, and Microsoft added 4.1%, aligning with the broader tech rally. Meanwhile, smaller-cap stocks faced headwinds as fresh tariff signals from President Trump targeting Chinese imports added to concerns about proposed levies on goods from Canada and Mexico.

US natural gas futures rose toward $3.9/MMBtu as frigid temperatures pushed demand to record highs. On Jan. 21st, the coldest day in at least five years, heating needs surged, driving spot gas and power prices to multi-year highs. Analysts expect energy firms to withdraw over 200 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas from storage for two consecutive weeks, erasing a small surplus in inventories compared to the five-year average. However, demand may ease as forecasts predict milder weather from late January to early February. Meanwhile, a power issue caused by a rare Gulf Coast winter storm shut Freeport LNG’s Texas export plant, lowering LNG feedgas demand to a six-week low of 13.3 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd).

Industrial producer prices in Canada rose by 0.2% month-over-month in December 2024, following a 0.6% increase in October and below market forecasts of a 0.6% advance. This marked the third consecutive monthly increase in producer prices, mainly driven by prices of motorized and recreational vehicles (+0.7%); primary non-ferrous metal products (+0.8%); lumber and other wood products (+1.3%) and meat, fish and dairy products (+0.8%). Conversely, notable decreases were seen for energy and petroleum products (-0.9%), of which finished motor gasoline (-1.3%) and diesel fuel (-0.7%); chemicals and chemical products (-0.6%) and pulp and paper products (-0.7%). On a yearly basis, producer prices surged 4.1% in December, the sharpest increase since January 2023, accelerating from a 2.2% rise in November.

South Africa’s inflation rate increased marginally to 3% in December 2024, up from 2.9% in November but below the 3.2% forecast. This remains significantly below the South African Reserve Bank's preferred midpoint target of 4.5%. Key contributors to price growth included miscellaneous goods and services (6.6%, unchanged from November), housing and utilities (4.4% vs 4.7%), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (4.3% vs 4.5%), and food and non-alcoholic beverages (2.5% vs 2.3%). Core inflation, which excludes volatile categories like food, non-alcoholic beverages, fuel, and energy, eased to 3.6% in December 2024, marking its lowest level since February 2022, compared to 3.7% in November. On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged up by 0.1%, following a flat reading in November.

Public sector net borrowing in the UK, excluding public sector banks, rose to £17.81 billion in December 2024, up from an upwardly revised £11.8 billion in November and exceeding the expected £14.1 billion. Total public sector spending increased by £13 billion year-over-year to £112.2 billion, driven by higher expenditures on public services, benefits, debt interest, and capital transfers. Meanwhile, receipts rose by £2.9 billion to £94.4 billion, as growth in central government tax receipts was partly offset by a decline in compulsory social contributions. Borrowing for the financial year to December 2024 reached £129.9 billion, £4.1 billion above the OBR's forecast of £125.9 billion. This marked the second-highest borrowing for the financial year to December since monthly records began in January 1993.

The annual inflation rate in Malaysia stood at 1.7% in December 2024, slightly below market consensus and November's print of 1.8%. This was the lowest reading since January, as prices eased for furnishing, household maintenance (0.4% vs 0.5% in November), health (1.1% vs 1.2%), recreation (1.7% vs 2.0%), and miscellaneous items (3.2% vs 3.4%). In addition, costs fell at steeper rates for clothing (-0.5% vs -0.3%) and communication (-5.4% vs -3.9%). By contrast, inflation was unchanged for alcoholic beverages (at 0.8%), housing (at 3.2%), transport (at 0.4%), and education (at 1.5%). Meantime, restaurant cost ticked higher (2.9% vs 2.8%) while food prices increased the most in 14 months (2.7% vs 2.6%). For full year, inflation stood at 1.8%, easing for the second straight year. Core consumer prices, excluding volatile fresh food items and administered costs, rose 1.6% yoy in December, the least since January 2022. Monthly, consumer prices edged up 0.1%, after a 0.1% drop in November.