S&P 500 – 6,939.03 (-0.43%)

Dow Jones – 48,892.47 (-0.36%)

NASDAQ – 23,461.82 (-0.94%)

• Markets React to Fed Chair Announcement: Markets dropped following President Trump’s announcement that he intends to nominate Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair, with the U.S. dollar index edging higher but remaining near four-year lows. Rate-sensitive small-cap stocks underperformed, as the Russell 2000 fell 1.6% and the S&P 500 declined 0.5%.
• Fed Leadership and Policy Implications: Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve signals a potential shift in monetary policy and has sparked debate over Fed independence as the Senate confirmation process looms. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose 2 basis points early Friday, though it is unclear whether this move was directly linked to the Fed announcement. Warsh has previously expressed support for lower interest rates, broadly aligning with the president’s stance.
• Artificial Intelligence Investments: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang pushed back against reports of tensions with OpenAI, confirming that the chipmaker plans its largest-ever investment as competition in the AI sector intensifies.
• Commodities: Gold and Silver: Silver suffered its steepest one-day collapse since 1980, dropping more than 13% and falling back below $100 per troy ounce, while gold slid 4% to trade above $5,100 per ounce. The sell-off followed Warsh’s nomination, which boosted the dollar and triggered heavy profit-taking across precious metals. Mining stocks declined sharply alongside the pullback in metals.
• Cryptocurrency Market Moves: Bitcoin fell below $78,000 for the first time in two months, reaching its lowest intraday level since November, as crypto markets reacted to dollar strength and volatility from the historic silver sell-off. Ethereum and Solana also saw significant declines.
• Macroeconomic Indicators: December PPI data indicated ongoing pipeline pressures from tariffs on certain goods, suggesting that companies are increasingly passing higher costs onto consumers to protect margins. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve held the fed funds rate unchanged at 3.50–3.75% as expected.
• Corporate Earnings – Technology: Apple shares fell despite beating expectations, reporting earnings per share of $2.84 versus a consensus of $2.67 and revenue of $143.76 billion versus $138.39 billion. Sandisk surged after EPS nearly doubled estimates, supported by strong AI-related product demand. Western Digital edged higher after exceeding earnings expectations and reporting a 25% revenue increase.
• Corporate Earnings – Consumer & Industrial: Deckers Outdoor jumped after better-than-expected results, driven by a 19% sales increase at its Hoka brand. Lockheed Martin gained on record backlog and expectations for increased missile production. Caterpillar rose after beating earnings forecasts, though guidance was slightly lighter than expected, benefiting from the AI-related power-generation business. Southwest Airlines surged on profit forecasts exceeding analysts’ expectations.
• Corporate Earnings – Travel & Payment Services: Royal Caribbean climbed following strong quarterly results, lifting the cruise sector, while travel-related stocks were buoyed by upbeat earnings from Mastercard, reflecting resilient consumer spending.
• Energy Markets: Crude oil prices fell despite heightened U.S.–Iran tensions that had recently pushed futures to four-month highs. President Trump has deployed U.S. naval assets to the region but signaled openness to talks with Iranian leaders. Exxon Mobil slipped despite beating earnings and revenue expectations, citing weaker crude prices and softer chemical margins.

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“Central banking is 98% talk and 2% action.” — Mervyn King, former Bank of England Governor

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Notable Stocks

• Nvidia (NVDA)
• Meta Platforms (META)
• Apple (AAPL)
• Intel (INTC)
• Tesla (TSLA)

Weekly Notables

Trump Nominates Fed Critic Kevin Warsh to Lead Central Bank

President Donald Trump has nominated outspoken Federal Reserve critic Kevin Warsh to head the institution. Here’s what you need to know. Warsh is a former Federal Reserve governor and a veteran of Wall Street. He has been highly critical of the central bank in recent years, calling for what he has described as a “regime change” in its leadership. In a speech last year, Warsh warned that US fiscal policy was on a “dangerous trajectory,” pointing to what he called a rise in “irresponsible spending.” He is widely viewed as someone who would favor lower interest rates in the near term.

Disney Board to Meet Next Week as CEO Succession Decision Nears

Disney’s board of directors is set to meet next week as the long-running search for a successor to Chief Executive Bob Iger approaches a conclusion. A person familiar with the matter confirmed the meeting to Deadline. The board traditionally convenes around the time of earnings announcements, and Disney is scheduled to report its fiscal first-quarter results on Monday. Both The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported on Friday that the succession process is expected to reach its final stage next week. The Journal said the board is anticipated to vote on Iger’s successor, while the Times published a detailed report highlighting Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney’s Experiences division, as a leading internal contender.

Earnings Spotlight: Walt Disney (DIS)

Walt Disney is reporting on Monday and is expected to report quarterly revenue of $25.74 billion, up from $24.69 billion last year, with adjusted EPS projected at $1.57, down from $1.76.  Disney CEO Bob Iger will resign before his contract ends on December 31, amid internal conflicts at ABC. The board is finalizing a successor, marking a key leadership change.

What's Ahead

What to Watch Ahead

Economic:

• Monday (Feb. 2): Construction Spending, ISM Manufacturing Index
• Tuesday (Feb. 3): no reports
• Wednesday (Feb. 4): ADP Employment Change, Business Inventories, EIA Crude Oil Inventories, Factory Orders, ISM Non-Manufacturing Index, MBA Mortgage Applications Index
• Thursday (Feb. 5): Continuing Claims, EIA Natural Gas Inventories, Initial Claims, Productivity – Preliminary, Unit Labor Costs-Preliminary
• Friday (Feb. 6): Average Hourly Earnings, Average Workweek, Consumer Credit, Nonfarm Payrolls, Unemployment Rate, University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment - Preliminary
   

Earnings:

• Monday (Feb. 2): Alliance Resources Partners LP (ARLP), Aptiv PLC (APTV), Fabrinet (FN), Hess Midstream LP (HESM), IDEXX Laboratories Inc. (IDXX), NXP Semiconductors NV (NXPI), Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR), Simon Property Group (SPG), Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN), Walt Disney Co. (DIS)
• Tuesday (Feb. 3): Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), Amgen Inc. (AMGN), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), Chubb Ltd. (CB), Eaton Corporation PLC (ETN), Emerson Electric Co. (EMR), Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW), Merck & Co. (MRK), Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ), PepsiCo Inc. (PEP), Pfizer Inc. (PFE), TransDigm Group Inc. (TDG)
• Wednesday (Feb. 4): Abbvie Inc. (ABBV), Aflac Inc. (AFL), Allstate Corp. (ALL), Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), Arm Holdings PLC (ARM), Eli Lilly Co. (LLY), Mckesson Corp. (MCK), Novartis AG (NVS), Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO), O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY), Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM)
• Thursday (Feb. 5): Amazon.com (AMZN), Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA), Barrick Mining Corp. (B), Bloomer Energy Corp. (BE), Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY), ConocoPhillips (COP), Digital Realty Trust Inc. (DLR), Fortinet Inc. (FTNT), Linde PLC (LIN), Monolithic Power Systems Inc. (MPWR), Roblox Corp. (RBLX), Shell PLC (SHEL), Strategy Inc. (MSTR)
• Friday (Feb. 6): AerCap Holdings NV (AER), Biogen Inc. (BIIB), Centene Corp. (CNC), Cboe Global Markets Inc. (CBOE), nVent Electric PLC (NVT), Philip Morris International Inc. (PM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Ubiquiti Inc. (UI)