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Chicago, IL – February 3, 2026 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Alphabet GOOGL, Amazon AMZN, ASML Holdings ASML, Micron MU and Lam Research LRCX.
Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:
What is going on in this Global Week Ahead?
Financial markets are heading towards the end of an unforgettable January, not least thanks to the U.S. dollar — set for its worst start to the year since 2018, and the coming week brings a set of catalysts that could shake things up further.
· Mega-cap earnings will set the tone for stocks, while
· U.S. jobs data could bring new headwinds or tailwinds for the dollar, and
· Geopolitics might keep gold looking shiny
Plus, former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh has been confirmed as the next head of the central bank.
The breathtaking rally that has lifted gold (and silver, platinum and palladium for that matter) to record highs might be showing a few cracks.
Expectations that Warsh could be more hawkish saw gold scuttle away from its near-$5,600 record high, but it's still on track for a 20% rally in January — its strongest month since 1980.
And there seems no shortage of triggers to provide more support for everyone's favourite safe haven: a fracturing world order, a potential attack on Iran, a falling dollar, worries about Fed independence and renewed trade turmoil.
World Gold Council data showed gold demand hit an all-time high last year, as jitters over instability and trade sparked a surge in investment. But sky-high prices have already hit jewelry demand and are set to dampen central bank buying, according to the organization.
Investors will look for evidence of a strengthening U.S. jobs market in the monthly employment report on February 6th, as they assess the prospects for further rate cuts.
The Fed cited signs of stabilization in employment when it held interest rates steady on Wednesday, after easing monetary policy in late 2025 in response to a weakening labor market.
Nonfarm payrolls for January are expected to have risen +70K, a Reuters poll showed, after rising by +50K in December.
Meanwhile, another heavy crop of earnings reports is about to land. Among them are two of the "Magnificent Seven" mega-cap companies: Google parent Alphabet and Amazon, which just confirmed 16,000 corporate job cuts.
The U.S. dollar is languishing near four-year lows, its renewed weakness grabbing the attention of central bankers, investors, and even the White House.
A day after Donald Trump emboldened greenback bears, saying the dollar's value was "great" when asked if the currency had declined too much, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. has a strong dollar policy and was not intervening to strengthen the yen.
The scale and speed of further falls could challenge banks if investors move at once to protect their U.S. assets from a dollar slide. It could also force central banks from the euro area to Asia to act to prevent a sharp rise in their domestic currencies that could choke off growth.
It's the U.S.'s currency, but be in no doubt: it's everyone else's problem.
Japan's unsteady bond market faces two key tests of demand ahead of a lower house vote where the prime minister and her opponents are campaigning on increased stimulus.
Japanese government bond yields have surged, sending shockwaves through global debt markets, after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced a snap election and pledged a two-year reprieve on sales taxes on food.
Tuesday sees an auction of benchmark 10-year JGBs, while new 30-year securities will be sold on Thursday. The 10-year yield hit a 27-year high of 2.38% and 30-year yields reached a record 3.88% on January 20 on speculation the election will usher in more debt-funded measures that will further impair Japan's fiscal health.
Yields have stabilized since, while the yen has rallied on threats of official intervention.
The ECB meets on Thursday and investors will be on the lookout for any indication of how a stronger euro might impact rates.
It could have been a very different meeting had Trump slapped tariffs on European countries in a push to buy Greenland, but his quick backtrack has avoided that scenario.
The dollar has been under fire since the start of the year, pushing the euro up 3% in the last two weeks alone to above $1.20, its highest since 2021.
Policymakers in Frankfurt aren't happy. They expect euro zone inflation to come in below the ECB's 2% target this year and next and are already worried further euro appreciation could pull inflation even lower.
For now, the ECB is expected to stay on hold and traders believe another rate cut is only slightly more likely by the summer.
Three major "AI" chip stocks lead our large-cap #1 list this week.
(1) ASML Holdings: This is a $1,423 a share stock, with a market cap of $559.6 billion. It is found in the Zacks Semiconductor Equipment – Wafer Fabrication industry. There is a Zacks Value score of F, a Zacks Growth score of F, and a Zacks Momentum score of A.
(2) Micron: This is a $415 a share stock, with a market cap of $467B. It is found in the Zacks Computer-Integrated Systems industry. There is a Zacks Value score of D, a Zacks Growth score of A, and a Zacks Momentum score of C.
(3) Lam Research: This is a $233 a share stock, with a market cap of $293.2B. It is found in the Zacks Electronics-Semiconductor industry. There is a Zacks Value score of F, a Zacks Growth score of A, and a Zacks Momentum score of B.
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Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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