US EQUITY OPEN: Stocks mixed at the open after soft core CPI; JPM lags after earnings miss, JETS down on DAL guidance miss

OPEN: US stocks are mixed at the open. Strength is led in Energy, Communications, and Industrials. Meanwhile, Financials lag after mixed JPM results (JPM, -2.6%, EPS & rev. missed, FY NII outlook beat), with Healthcare also seeing moderate downside. JETS, the US airliner ETF, is down c. 0.7% following earnings from Delta Air Lines (DAL, -1.6%), with sentiment subdued in the sector after DAL's disappointing EPS guidance for Q1 and FY26. Core US inflation was softer-than-expected in December, which allowed equity futures in the pre-market to rise (has pared since) as rate expectations build with markets more confident of two more 25bps rate cuts in 2026. As such, the dollar was weighed with front-end yields pushing lower. Attention for FX/fixed turns to Fed speak in the session (Musalem & Barkin) as well as the US 30yr bond auction. Separately, the weekly ADP preliminary estimate saw an average of +11.75k jobs added to private payrolls; little reaction was seen. For commodities, oil prices have extended higher in recent trade following a Trump on Truth Social noting help is on its way to Iran after the killing of protestors; silver and gold also extended following the increase in geopolitical risk.  

STOCK SPECIFICS

• AMD (AMD), Intel (INTC): Upgraded at KeyBanc
• Delta Air Lines (DAL): EPS guidance for next quarter and FY missed expectations
• JPMorgan (JPM): 2026 NII outlook impresses; however, EPS and revenue for the current quarter missed.
• Cardinal Health (CAH): Raised FY26 guidance.
• BlackRock (BLK): Cutting hundreds of jobs, reducing global headcount by c. 1%
• Albemarle (ALB): Upgraded at Deutsche Bank to 'Buy' from 'Hold'
• Alcoa (AA):  Downgraded at Wells Fargo to 'Equal Weight' from 'Overweight'
• Synopsys (SNPS):  Downgraded at Piper Sandler to 'Neutral' from 'Overweight'