Overview
- U.S. benchmarks were little changed to slightly lower in morning trading before the Martin Luther King holiday.
- Investor caution followed fresh questions about Federal Reserve leadership after Trump's remarks and a recent inquiry involving Jerome Powell.
- Attention turned to the Jan. 28 meeting, where markets expect a pause in late-2025 rate cuts and await comments from Fed officials.
- Memory-chip makers led gains, with Micron and Seagate higher and the semiconductor index up, while S&P 500 financials steadied after losses tied to a proposed 10% credit-card rate cap.
- Mexico's IPC edged up early, lifted by América Móvil, as oil prices rose more than 1% on Iran-related supply risk.