Wall Street Mixed on Rate Cut Hopes; China Cuts Mortgage Rate; Oil Jumps on Geopolitics; Retail Earnings and $35B Credit Card Deal

• Wall Street returns from holiday to mixed outlook - doubts on rate cuts, retailer updates, big credit card merger deal • China surprises with larger-than-expected mortgage rate cut, though markets remain underwhelmed by stimulus efforts
• Cloudy inflation picture with oil jumping on geopolitics and upcoming Canadian/US data • Corporate highlights - Walmart, Home Depot results, plus AI chipmaker Nvidia earnings and $35B Capital One/Discover deal • Barclays shares surge on plan to cut costs, boost payouts and invest in UK bank