{"id":57767,"date":"2026-01-12T11:08:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T15:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/market-opens-lower-amid-fed-independence-concerns-walmart-rises-on-nasdaq-100-inclusion\/57767\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T11:08:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T15:08:24","slug":"market-opens-lower-amid-fed-independence-concerns-walmart-rises-on-nasdaq-100-inclusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/market-opens-lower-amid-fed-independence-concerns-walmart-rises-on-nasdaq-100-inclusion\/57767\/","title":{"rendered":"Market Opens Lower Amid Fed Independence Concerns; Walmart Rises on NASDAQ-100 Inclusion"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>US equity markets opened lower<\/strong> on Monday, January 12, 2026, with the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/dowjones\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Dow Jones Today\">Dow Jones<\/a><\/strong> down <strong>0.62%<\/strong>, the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/sp500\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"snp500 today\">S&amp;P 500<\/a><\/strong> falling <strong>0.43%<\/strong>, and the <strong>Nasdaq<\/strong> dropping <strong>0.39%<\/strong>, as investor sentiment was weighed down by concerns over Federal Reserve independence.<\/li>\n<li>Fears regarding the <strong>prosecution of Fed Chair Powell<\/strong> by the Justice Department, which Powell claims is a pretext to influence monetary policy, led to a rise in <em>long-term Treasury yields<\/em> and a <em>weaker dollar<\/em>, with analysts suggesting a potential boost to <em>hawkish monetary policy<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Walmart (<a href=\"\/stock\/WMT\">WMT<\/a>) shares rose approximately 2%<\/strong> after the announcement that it will replace <strong>AstraZeneca (<a href=\"\/stock\/AZN\">AZN<\/a>)<\/strong> on the <strong>NASDAQ-100<\/strong> index effective January 20. Conversely, <strong>UnitedHealth (<a href=\"\/stock\/UNH\">UNH<\/a>) declined 1.9%<\/strong> following a Senate report detailing the company&#39;s <em>aggressive tactics to boost Medicare payments<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Q4 2025 S&amp;P 500 earnings growth is projected at 8.3%<\/strong>, primarily driven by a robust <strong>25.9% increase in the Technology sector<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>Greenland government reaffirmed its commitment to the Western Defense Alliance<\/strong>, emphasizing that its defense will be under the auspices of <strong>NATO<\/strong>, a common interest for all member states including the United States.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>US equity markets began the week on a downbeat note, with all major indices registering declines at market open. The <strong>Dow Jones Industrial Average<\/strong> dropped <strong>308.29 points, or 0.62%<\/strong>, to <strong>49,195.78<\/strong>, the <strong>S&amp;P 500<\/strong> fell <strong>30.10 points, or 0.43%<\/strong>, to <strong>6,936.18<\/strong>, and the <strong>Nasdaq<\/strong> was down <strong>91.05 points, or 0.39%<\/strong>, at <strong>23,580.30<\/strong>. This broad market weakness was largely attributed to escalating concerns over the independence of the Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n<p>The sentiment was heavily impacted by the revelation that federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into <strong>Fed Chair Jerome Powell<\/strong>. Powell, in a statement, accused administration officials of using the threat of prosecution, centered on a renovation project at the Fed&#39;s headquarters, to pressure the central bank into lowering interest rates. This unprecedented development has <em>raised significant concerns about political interference in monetary policy<\/em>, leading to a rise in <em>long-term Treasury yields<\/em> and a <em>weakening of the dollar<\/em>. Analysts suggest these worries could push the Fed towards a more <em>hawkish stance<\/em> to assert its independence.<\/p>\n<p>In corporate news, <strong>Walmart (<a href=\"\/stock\/WMT\">WMT<\/a>)<\/strong> saw its shares climb approximately <strong>2%<\/strong> after the announcement that it is set to join the <strong>NASDAQ-100<\/strong> index on January 20, replacing <strong>AstraZeneca (<a href=\"\/stock\/AZN\">AZN<\/a>)<\/strong>. This move follows Walmart&#39;s decision last year to shift its stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange (<a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/exchanges\/nyse\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"NYSE Today\">NYSE<\/a>) to Nasdaq, reflecting its growing digital and technology-focused operations. Meanwhile, <strong>UnitedHealth (<a href=\"\/stock\/UNH\">UNH<\/a>)<\/strong> experienced a <strong>1.9%<\/strong> decline in its stock price. This downturn came after a Senate report found that the company used <em>aggressive tactics to boost Medicare payments<\/em>, a practice the report concluded &quot;turned risk adjustment into a business.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Looking ahead, the <strong>Q4 2025 earnings season<\/strong> is underway, with <strong>S&amp;P 500 EPS growth projected at 8.3%<\/strong>. The <strong>Technology sector<\/strong> is expected to be a standout performer, leading growth with a projected <strong>25.9% increase<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>On the geopolitical front, the <strong>Greenland government<\/strong> issued statements reaffirming its strategic alignment. The coalition government believes that <strong>Greenland will forever be part of the Western Defense Alliance<\/strong>. They further stated that all <strong>NATO<\/strong> member states, including the United States, share a common interest in the defense of Greenland. The government also indicated it would increase efforts to ensure that Greenland&#39;s defense takes place <em>under the auspices of NATO<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>In France, an official from the <strong>French Finance Ministry<\/strong> stated that they have received no request and had no contact with <strong>Eli Lilly (<a href=\"\/stock\/LLY\">LLY<\/a>)<\/strong>. The official also clarified that any investment involving a <em>strategic pharmaceutical company<\/em> would be subject to <strong>mandatory screening<\/strong> by the French Finance Ministry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways US equity markets opened lower on Monday, January 12, 2026, with the Dow Jones down 0.62%, the S&amp;P [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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