January 2026 Market Comments: High Energy!

January 2026 Market Comments

“High Energy” – Evelyn Thomas, 1984.

Volatility was the lead singer this month, hitting high notes on many asset classes. The AI revolution has reached a fever pitch, demanding a massive, non-stop surge of electrical power. Data centers are the new power-hungry stars, causing electricity demand to pulse like a heavy bassline: according to the IEA, the global power consumption of AI could double by 2026, a truly High Energy pace. Grid infrastructure stocks are climbing the charts as the world rushes to fuel the silicon brain. Nuclear and renewable sectors are vibrating with fresh capital, chasing the “everlasting love” of stability. The “Hyperscalers” are pouring billions into juice, ensuring their digital empires never lose the beat. Commodity prices for copper and uranium are dancing to an upbeat, aggressive tempo this winter. Investors are “caught up in a game of emotions”, which frequently, or always, lead to heightened volatility.

Gyrations were also very wide in Commodities and precious metals, and the good news in January is that the month ended on a positive note as a whole, which was not a given considering all the news flow, whether geopolitical or financial.

The MSCI World added 2.2% in January, the 10th consecutive month of positive returns, with US markets underperforming Europe, Japan and Emerging Markets: the S&P was up 1.4%, Europe 3.2%, Japan 4.6% and Emerging Markets 8.8%. Currencies had less impact last month, but the dollar was still under pressure. Value largely outperformed Growth (+4.6% versus -0.3%), most fixed-income markets were quite stable (barring the JGBs, which suffered again from rising yields in Japan).

Gold, despite a 11% fall on the last day of the month, still added 13.3%, slightly behind Oil which was up 13.6%. The major laggard in January was the Bitcoin, down 10.8%.

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