![People are seen leaving a Starbucks in New York City on Jan. 14, 2025.](https://media.nbcconnecticut.com/2025/01/108093809-1738098503690-gettyimages-2193347521-AFP_36TV3AA.jpeg?quality=85&strip=all&resize=320%2C180)
People are seen leaving a Starbucks in New York City on Jan. 14, 2025.
- The Fed is meeting for the first time since President Donald Trump took office.
- Starbucks' same-store sales fell for the fourth consecutive quarter.
- X and Visa are teaming up as the social media sites pushes into financial services.
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Tech watch
Stocks regained some of their ground Tuesday, as the S&P 500 added 0.92% while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.03%. That surge came a day after the tech-heavy index saw a 3.1% decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, gained 136.77 points, or 0.31%. The major averages spent the day following in the footsteps of Nvidia. Investors are also turning their eyes toward tech earnings this week and Wednesday's Federal Reserve decision on interest rates. Follow live market updates.
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2. Holding pattern
![U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference where he announced the Fed had cut interest rates by a quarter point following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate policy in Washington, U.S., Dec. 18, 2024.](https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/108077822-17345521092024-12-18t195737z_73570471_rc2urbavb125_rtrmadp_0_usa-economy-fed.jpeg?w=1920&h=1080)
The Federal Reserve is meeting Wednesday for the first time since President Donald Trump took office. Trump has signaled he wants to see lower interest rates, but CME Group data shows the market is pricing in a near 100% certainty that the central bank will keep its target range of 4.25%-4.5%, not lower rates. The Fed has cut at each of its last three meetings, but traders are expecting the Fed to stay on hold until June.
Money Report
3. Comeback brewing?
Starbucks reported earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street's expectations on Tuesday. The coffee giant's same-store sales fell for the fourth consecutive quarter, sliding 4%, but analysts had expected a decline of 5.5%, according to StreetAccount estimates. "While we have room for improvement, we're making progress as planned, and have confidence we're on the right track," CEO Brian Niccol said in a video posted to the company's website on Tuesday afternoon.
4. The X factor
![](https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/108093675-1738088796279-Untitled-1.jpg?w=1920&h=1080)
Elon Musk's X is starting its push into financial services. The social media site is teaming up with Visa to allow X users to move funds between traditional bank accounts and their digital wallet, as well as make instant peer-to-peer payments, like with Zelle or Venmo. The partnership with the largest U.S. credit card network comes as Musk has said he wants to make X a place where users can conduct their "entire financial world." X Money is expected to launch in the first quarter, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
5. ASML
![An icon of ASML is displayed on a smartphone, with an ASML chip visible in the background.](https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/108019821-1723561950847-gettyimages-1900810562-raa-asmlhold240104_npWrR.jpeg?w=1920&h=1080)
Shares of Dutch semiconductor giant ASML rose roughly 9% Wednesday as the company reported a surge in net bookings in the fourth quarter. That suggests that demand will remain strong for its advanced chipmaking tools even as concerns have spiked this week about Chinese startup DeepSeek, which claims to undercut American leader OpenAI on cost and performance. ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet told CNBC that he sees no sign of a slowdown in demand for AI-focused chips and that models like DeepSeek will drive more demand, not less.
— CNBC's Sean Conlon, Jeff Cox, Amelia Lucas, Hugh Son, MacKenzie Sigalos and Ryan Browne contributed to this report.