Investopedia Markets News (all except PF)

Google parent Alphabet is one of the Magnificent 7 firms scheduled to report earnings this week.

Greg Baker / AFP via Getty Images

The latest data on the U.S. job market, along with a look at the finances of several top tech, media and pharmaceutical firms, are in store for investors this week.

The jobs report for January comes as Federal Reserve officials are closely watching the labor market for signs of weakness. The central bank kept interest rates on hold last week. 

Investors will also be focused on earnings from several top tech firms, including Amazon and Google parent Alphabet. Reports from AMD, Qualcomm and Palantir are likely to provide insight into the artificial intelligence (AI) industry. Reports from Disney, Uber, Toyota and a slew of pharmaceutical firms are also on tap.

Read to the bottom for our calendar of key events—and one more thing.

Jobs Data Will Highlight the Strength of the Labor Market

The U.S. jobs report for January is due Friday. The labor market in December showed more signs of weakening; while the unemployment rate edged lower at the end of the year, the 50,000 jobs that employers reported adding was lower than economists anticipated.

Federal Reserve officials will be watching the labor market after the central bank voted last week to keep interest rates unchanged, citing elevated inflation risks, even as hiring has slowed. Some Fed officials have said that rates should continue to be lowered to shore up the job market.

Investors will also get a look at consumer sentiment in February, while consumer credit levels and Purchasing Managers Index survey results for the manufacturing and services sector will also be in focus.

Alphabet, Amazon, Disney on Tap for Earnings Reports

Alphabet’s earnings come after the search giant surpassed the $100 billion revenue milestone in its most recent report. Amazon also posted strong revenue gains in the prior quarter. The online retailer recently announced another round of layoffs. 

The report from Advanced Micro Devices comes amid brisk sales of data center chips, fanning bullish sentiment among analysts following the chipmaker. While investors continue to focus on the opportunity offered by the AI trade, some observers are warning of inflated valuations for top tech companies. 

Investors will be watching Disney’s report for more details on its direct-to-consumer segment (including its streaming services), which grew 8% in the prior quarter but came in below expectations. Pharmaceutical firms will also be in focus, including Wednesday’s report from Eli Lilly, which has seen its shares rise on optimism over its weight loss drugs. Rival weight loss drugmaker Novo Nordisk will also report earnings this week, along with Amgen, Merck, AbbVie and Novartis. 

Quick Links: Recap Last Week’s Trading | Latest Markets News 

This Week’s Calendar

Monday, Feb. 2

• ISM manufacturing PMI (January)
• Federal Reserve Official Speaking: Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic 
• Key Earnings: Palantir (PLTR), Disney (DIS), Mizuho Financial (MFG)

Tuesday, Feb. 3

• Job openings (December)
• Key Earnings: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Merck (MRK), Amgen (AMGN), Pfizer (PFE), PepsiCo (PEP)

Wednesday, Feb. 4

• ADP employment (January)
• Federal Reserve Officials Speaking: Gov. Lisa Cook
• More Data to Watch: ISM services PMI (January)
• Key Earnings: Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Eli Lilly (LLY), AbbVie (ABBV), Novartis (NVS), Novo Nordisk (NVO), Uber Technologies (UBER), Qualcomm (QCOM)

Thursday, Feb. 5

• Initial jobless claims (Week ending Jan. 31)
• Key Earnings: Amazon (AMZN), Philip Morris (PM), Shell (SHEL), ConocoPhillips (COP), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY)

Friday, Feb. 6

• U.S. employment report (January)
• More Data to Watch: Consumer sentiment - preliminary (February), Consumer credit
• Key Earnings: Toyota Motors (TM)

One More Thing

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A funding lapse in Congress could lead to a government shutdown at midnight on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.

Prasit photo

Key Takeaways

• President Donald Trump endorsed a plan to fund most of the government through September while extending Department of Homeland Security funding for two weeks as Congress debates reforms to the agency.
• But the Senate hasn't approved the deal, and the House isn't set to vote until Monday at the earliest.
• Unlike last fall's 43-day shutdown, a partial stoppage this weekend would affect only a handful of agencies.

A partial government shutdown is likely to begin this weekend, but it shouldn't last long.

President Donald Trump said late Thursday that he supports a deal in Congress that would prevent a partial government shutdown.

"Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together to get the vast majority of the Government funded until September," Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.

But Congress hasn’t sent him the legislation yet. 

Senate leaders said they have agreed on a spending package that would fund most of the government through September of this year. Under the agreement, funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would be extended for only two weeks.

That would allow more time to debate the agency's funding after fatal shootings by federal agents in Minneapolis prompted demands for reform.

Why This Matters for the Economy

Government shutdowns can delay paychecks, slow data releases that investors rely on, and dent economic growth. This one is likely to be brief, limiting the damage, but prolonged uncertainty over government funding could unsettle markets.

House Schedule Makes Shutdown More Likely 

Even if the Senate approves the funding package before the midnight Friday deadline, the House of Representatives would still need to approve it. House members aren't scheduled to return until Monday, and House Speaker Mike Johnson said it was unlikely they would come back early.

There are also questions over whether the House would approve a package that places a two-week limit on DHS funding.

Shutdown Impact Would Be Limited

Unlike the 43-day shutdown late last year, this shutdown isn't likely to cause as much disruption.

“Even if there is a partial closure, the economic sting will be much less than in the fall,” wrote BMO Senior Economist Sal Guatieri.

A shutdown would impact only a handful of agencies, since half the appropriations bills have already passed. Several agencies—including Labor, Education, and Transportation—could see funding paused if the bill doesn't pass.

The impact on the public is unclear, especially since the shutdown would begin during a weekend, when many offices are closed. Air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration workers would still be required to report to work. But Internal Revenue Service operations could be disrupted during the filing season for Americans' taxes.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics could also be affected. It produces the monthly jobs report; the next is due Feb. 6. An extended delay in funding next week could postpone its release, Guatieri wrote. 

The Census Bureau, whose funding has already passed, should release its data as scheduled, avoiding a repeat of the data drought during the last shutdown. 

Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, speaks to members of the media on Jan. 30.

Graeme Sloan / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Key Takeaways

• Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a Republican, has threatened to block President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Federal Reserve.
  
• Tillis objects to the Justice Department's investigation into current Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
  
• Tillis is not seeking re-election in November, so he could hold up the nomination for less than a year.
  

A key Republican lawmaker likes President Donald Trump's pick to head the Federal Reserve—and is threatening to block his appointment anyway.

While Trump has chosen his nominee for the chair position, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh must still be approved by the Senate. North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, a member of the Senate's influential banking committee, said Friday he will oppose Warsh's nomination in protest of the administration's efforts to strongarm the central bank's current leadership.

Trump has repeatedly criticized current Fed Chair Jerome Powell and demanded that the Fed sharply lower interest rates. Earlier this month, the Justice Department began investigating Powell, though Trump said he had no knowledge of the inquiry.

The Justice Department investigation of Powell is focused on his testimony to the Senate last summer about a renovation project at the Fed's headquarters. Powell and his supporters, who include lawmakers and former Fed leaders, have criticized the investigation as a pretense to pressure the Fed to lower rates.

“Kevin Warsh is a qualified nominee with a deep understanding of monetary policy," Tillis said in a statement. "However, the Department of Justice continues to pursue a criminal investigation into Chairman Jerome Powell based on committee testimony that no reasonable person could construe as possessing criminal intent. Protecting the independence of the Federal Reserve from political interference or legal intimidation is non-negotiable."

What This Means For The Economy

Should other lawmakers join Tillis, it could throw a cloud of uncertainty on the leadership of the Federal Reserve, which plays an important role in the economy and financial system. That could fuel broader uncertainty in the economy.

Tillis has spoken out against the Trump administration's recent legal threats against Powell, which he says have called into question the Federal Reserve's independence from White House control. Congress established the Fed to resist political influence so presidents would not be able to force the Fed to set interest rates too low, which could stoke inflation. If approved by the Senate, Warsh would take office in May when Powell's term ends.

Tillis's opposition could prove to be more of a speedbump than a roadblock. Tillis is not running for re-election in November, so his days in office are numbered.

Speaking at the White House Friday, Trump said Warsh's would get the Senate's approval, eventually.

"If he doesn't approve, we'll just have to wait till somebody comes in that will approve," Trump said of Tillis.

Palantir shares are down nearly 30% from their last record high set in Nov. 2025

Laurent Hou / Hans Lucas / AFP / Getty Images

Key Takeaways

• Palantir stock is expected to make more big moves by the end of the week after reporting earnings on Monday.
• Revenue is expected to keep growing to record highs, but that wasn't enough to keep the stock rising last quarter amid concerns about valuation.

Palantir Technologies is slated to post fourth-quarter results after Monday's closing bell, with traders expecting another big swing following the report.

Based on current options pricing, Palantir (PLTR) stock is expected to move at least 9% by the end of next week. At the high end, that would put the stock around $158 based on Friday's close near $147. At the low end, the shares could fall to around $133, which would put them in the red this year; the stock hasn't finished a session in the $130s since July.

Software stocks such as Palantir have had a rough start to the year. AI investors have shifted more attention to hardware makers and chip stocks; Palantir is nearly 30% off the record highs set in the run-up to last quarter's report in early November.

Why This Matters to Investors

Palantir stock was a major winner of 2025 as the software maker was touted by analysts as a "best-in-class AI enabler." However, concerns that the stock had become overvalued have pressured shares in recent weeks.

Palantir is expected to report record fourth-quarter revenue of $1.34 billion, along with adjusted earnings per share of $0.23. Both numbers would be up more than 60% year-over-year, per Visible Alpha estimates.

The company topped estimates in its previous quarterly report in November, but shares tumbled in the days that followed amid concerns that the stock's 2025 rally left the government contractor overvalued. Shares surged some 135% in 2025, but have moved lower to start this year amid concerns that AI enthusiasm has inflated Palantir and other firms' valuations.

Analysts are somewhat divided on Palantir stock, with the nine analysts with current ratings tracked by Visible Alpha roughly split between four "buy" and five "hold" ratings.

The average price target of those ratings, however, is around $189, as analysts see Palantir stock with some room to run some 30% higher—and past the record highs it set in November.

As bitcoin continues to fall, investors are looking toward signs of a bottom.

Camilo Freedman / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Key Takeaways

• A crypto-friendly Fed Chair nominee, and a step forward for the Clarity Act, among other bits of good news, hasn't inspired a turnaround in sentiment around bitcoin.
• The price of bitcoin is down about 20% in the past year.

What can shake bitcoin out of its rut?

That's the question on crypto traders' minds these days. The price of the world's largest cryptocurrency has fallen year-to-date, deflating early January hopes of a turnaround. Bitcoin broke below the $85,000 level this week; even signs of good news aren't helping. (The coin did reclaim some lost ground Friday, trading around $84,000 in the early evening.)

Neither billions of dollars of purchases by a Bitcoin whale, nor recent developments with a key crypto industry bill, have restored bullish energy. Gold is the star for investors seeking hedges these days. President Donald Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh, a bitcoin supporter, as the next Fed chair, does not appear to be moving the needle much either.

Some industry experts appear to be looking to the price investors will view as cheap enough to get back in—and many bitcoin backers are still bullish on the outlook for this year and beyond.

Advisor Insight

Bitcoin appears to have lost its draw—both as a hedge, and as a momentum play. That has some market watchers wondering what price investors are waiting for before getting back in.

But by the looks of recent bitcoin ETF flows, investors don't seem to think we're there yet. In the last three days, bitcoin ETFs saw net outflows of around $985 million, according to Farside Investors. (Strategy (MSTR), the big bitcoin buyer, continues to load up: This month it's added 40,147 bitcoins for about $3.7 billion.)

The Senate Agriculture Committee's version of the Clarity Act, a key crypto bill that aims to create a regulatory framework for the industry, passed through a party line vote just yesterday. That's good news, but the Senate Banking Committee's draft has stalled, and the partisan outcome of the Ag Committee vote suggests there's still a lot of work to do to get the legislation past the finish line.

Warsh has previously called bitcoin as an "important asset." Strategy's Michael Saylor on social media Friday said he'll soon be "the first pro-Bitcoin Chairman of the Federal Reserve." Warsh's appointment, however, still needs Senate confirmation, and his nomination doesn't appear to be moving bitcoin prices meaningfully.

If neither crypto legislation nor a pro-bitcoin Fed Chair can spur a rebound in bitcoin, it may be down to prices. With "no clear catalysts on the immediate horizon," a near-term reset would not appear likely, Sean Farrell, Fundstrat's head of digital asset strategy, said in a note this morning.

"It is increasingly plausible that we approach a 'value zone' in the coming days/weeks," Farrell said, pointing to the mid-$70,000s as a level that would offer support. That would suggest a fall of another 10% or so.

This article has been updated since it was first published to reflect updated market prices.

Silver Lost More Than a Quarter of Its Value Today

Gold and silver prices dropped sharply Friday after President Trump announced his pick for Fed chair.

Damian Lemanski / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Key Takeaways

• Investors locked in profits from a blistering precious metal rally on Friday after President Trump tapped Kevin Warsh, a former Fed Governor, to lead the central bank.
• Gold prices tumbled 9% from yesterday's record high, while silver slid more than 25% to trade below $87 an ounce.
• Geopolitical uncertainty, concerns about the Federal Reserve's independence, and a weakening dollar have helped make gold and silver two of the best-performing assets over the past year.

Gold and silver prices tumbled on Friday as investors locked in profits after President Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to chair the Federal Reserve, allaying some of Wall Street’s fears about the president’s efforts to exert greater control over the independent central bank. 

Spot gold fell 9% to $4,905 per troy ounce after hitting a record high of about $5,600 on Thursday. Silver prices, which touched an all-time high above $120 yesterday, dropped 26% to $86.60 an ounce. Exchange traded funds tracking the precious metals, including the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) and SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), were suffering similar declines.

Gold and silver prices have soared over the past year, driven by geopolitical and economic uncertainty, as well as a weaker U.S. dollar. Heading into Friday’s session, gold prices were up nearly 90% in the preceding 12 months. Silver climbed about 250% in the same period.

Why This Is Important

Gold and silver prices skyrocketed over the past year as investors sought refuge from exceptionally volatile risk assets. Friday's slump likely reflects investors' expectations for smoother sailing ahead with Kevin Warsh at the helm of the Federal Reserve.

Investors breathed a sigh of relief on Friday when President Trump announced Kevin Warsh, a former Fed Governor, as his pick to replace current chair Jerome Powell, whose term is up in May. Warsh was one of the more establishment-friendly candidates being considered by Trump, who has spent the past year pressuring the Fed to aggressively lower interest rates despite elevated inflation and tariff uncertainty. Warsh’s nomination reassured investors concerned that a Trump loyalist leading the Fed would compromise the central bank’s independence, undermining the legitimacy of U.S. monetary policy.

Trump's announcement sparked a dollar rally that added pressure to precious metals. The U.S. dollar index, which touched a 4-year low earlier this week, rose 0.9% on Friday. The dollar’s weakness since Trump returned to office—the USD index is down more than 10% in the past year—has boosted foreign demand for metals priced in dollars, helping to fuel their rally.

The reaction in precious metals markets was especially dramatic. Palladium prices doubled in the year leading up to Friday, and slid about 14%. Platinum slumped 18% after nearly tripling in value over the last year.

Jeff deGraaf, chairman and head of technical research at Renaissance Macro Research, said of the precious metals reaction: "Parabolic moves have hair triggers, and those hair triggers can go off at any point in time, and that's why they're so dangerous and so susceptible to these mass changes in psychology. They really have nothing to do with the fundamentals."

Update—Jan. 30, 2026: This article has been updated with the latest market prices and commentary from Renaissance Macro.

Sandisk shares have more than doubled this year alone

Brennan Smart / Bloomberg / Getty Images

Key Takeaways

• Sandisk shares surged Friday and have more than doubled this month after soaring in 2025.
• The storage device maker topped estimates and projected third-quarter results well above the analyst consensus.

One of the hottest stocks of 2026 is extending its record run.

Sandisk (SNDK) shares, up 13% in recent trading, have more than doubled this year. The storage device maker reported quarterly earnings and forecasts stronger than analysts had forecast, helping drive the shares higher and making them one of the day's top gainers in the S&P 500.

Fiscal second-quarter revenue came in at $3.03 billion, while adjusted earnings per share was $6.20, each well above the analyst consensus compiled by Visible Alpha. Sandisk expects current-quarter revenue of $4.4 billion to $4.8 billion, with adjusted EPS projected to come in between $12 and $14. Analysts had pegged those latter metrics at $3 billion and $5.42.

Why This Matters to Investors

Sandisk was one of the biggest winners on the market in the back half of last year after the company went public in early 2025. A memory shortage has driven prices in the sector to record highs, boosting the results and stocks of Sandisk and other memory-component makers.

"The critical role that our products play in powering AI and the world’s technology is being recognized," CEO David Goeckeler said.

Sandisk and other hardware makers have seen their stocks soar in recent months. Investors see them as key beneficiaries of the AI boom, with big tech companies spending hundreds of billions on the equipment needed for AI data centers. Sandisk in its latest results said its data center revenue grew 64% from the first quarter, and 76% year-over-year.

The stock got a boost when it was added to the S&P 500 late last year. It has continued to surge this year amid a rally for hardware makers.

Four of the five analysts with current ratings tracked by Visible Alpha call Sandisk stock a "buy," along with one "hold" rating, with the stock expected to continue rising; the average target price of $725 represents about a 35% premium to Thursday's close.

Bank of America lifted its target to $850 after the results landed. "Demand," its analysts wrote, "continues to outpace supply."

Some other memory stocks were falling Friday. Western Digital (WDC) and Seagate (STX) were both down substantially, perhaps indicating some profit-taking in the red-hot sector. Both companies' shares have still easily posted double-digit gains for the year.

The manager of a fund that has outpaced the S&P 500 for years is set to retire.

Getty Images

Key Takeaways

• The Fidelity Contrafund has posted an annualized 14% gain through January 26, beating major benchmark stock indexes.
• Danoff's Contrafund, an early investor in Google and Facebook, is invested in private companies including SpaceX and Anthropic, according to recent holdings reports.

It's hard for stock pickers to beat the market—and even harder to do it consistently for years. Will Danoff has done both.

The Fidelity Contrafund (FCNTX), which Danoff has helmed since 1990, has posted an average annualized gain of more than 14%, outpacing both the S&P 500 and the Russell 1000 Growth Index, which tracks companies comparable to the fund's category, through Monday's close.

His ability to consistently beat the market has drawn big money, with the Contrafund's assets under management recently above $176 billion. Danoff, however, plans to step away from the fund: He is set to retire at year's end, though he will stay with Fidelity in an advisory capacity, per documents filed this week.

What makes Danoff a remarkable portfolio manager is that "his success wasn't narrowly confined to one part of his career," Morningstar analyst Robby Greengold told Investopedia. Some portfolio managers with 30-plus years under their belts tend to earn the bulk of their market outperformance within a two- or three-year window, he said, while Danoff has seen "phenomenal success" both earlier and later in his career.

WHY THIS MATTERS TO INVESTORS

Investors might be interested in the fund's smaller allocations to private companies—Elon Musk's SpaceX and Dario Amodei's Anthropic among them—that some believe become the Alphabets and Metas of tomorrow.

Danoff and his successors—Jason Weiner and Asher Anolic, who joined his team as co-portfolio managers last year—have a few more months together. And their 2026 outlook would suggest that they're on the hunt for companies that don't look like some of their current top holdings—giants like Meta Platforms (META), Nvidia (NVDA), Amazon.com (AMZN), Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA), and Alphabet (GOOGL)—but could grow up to resemble them.

"We continue to seek more exposure to international stocks and small- and mid-cap firms," Danoff, Weiner, and Anolic said in a December-end note, saying they expect to find candidates in companies that have hit the public markets in the past five to seven years. "We believe many of these businesses, which we call 'tomorrow's blue chips,' can grow faster than the largest companies in the market."

Danoff in Sun Valley, Idaho, in 2021.

Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images)

Danoff picks stocks for the long haul: He has owned Google since its 2004 IPO, and bought Facebook, now Meta, before it went public—now they're part of the trillion-dollar market-cap club. A more obscure example of a prescient pick would be high-speed wire and cable provider Amphenol (APH); Contrafund has owned it since at least 2004 when shares were trading for a couple bucks. It recently traded at around $146, a level it has reached in recent years as a major player in AI data center infrastructure.

Though Danoff could not be reached in time for publication, the Contrafund team wrote in their late-2025 letter that the near-term outlook "appears favorable for continued economic and business expansion, but we believe policy uncertainty, inflation persistence and elevated asset valuations bear watching."

Danoff hasn't used his success to draw a huge social media following, but he's famous in other ways. A letter he received in 1993 from one his early investors became the subject of a Fidelity commercial. The parents of a one-year-old wrote to Danoff saying they invested $10,000 in his fund to help them pay for his college education, and enclosed a picture to give him a "sense there are real people out here trusting [him] with their hard-earned money."

Based on Investopedia's rough calculation, $10,000 parked in the Contrafund in 1993 would now amount to more than $650,000, net of fees.

Contrafund's 440-odd stock portfolio now includes small allocations in Elon Musk's privately held SpaceX and xAI, artificial intelligence pioneer Anthropic, and payments provider Stripe—a few of which are reportedly planning mega-IPOs this year.

"One of the keys to being a successful investor is to cast as wide a net as possible," Danoff said in an interview with Morningstar's The Long View in 2020."And, again, paying attention and monitoring out-of-favor groups."

Entering Friday's session, Deckers Outdoor stock had lost more than half of its value over the past 12 months.

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Key Takeaways

• Deckers Outdoor stock soared Friday morning after the company reported strong quarterly results and issued a better-than-expected outlook.
• The company said it sees significant room for sales of its Hoka running shoes to continue growing as its fastest-growing brand.

A shoemaker's stock is running to its highest point in months Friday.

Deckers Outdoor (DECK) shares surged 11% in early trading after the parent company of Hoka running shoes and UGG boots reported better fiscal third quarter results than expected.

Deckers said after the bell Thursday that it earned $3.33 per share on $1.96 billion in revenue, each topping estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. Sales of the Hoka and UGG brands increased 18% and 5%, respectively, from the same time a year ago.

The company also lifted its full fiscal year forecasts, expecting $5.4 billion to $5.425 billion in sales and EPS of $6.80 to $6.85, each range fully above the analyst consensus, Previously Deckers had projected full-year revenue of $5.35 billion and EPS of $6.30 to $6.39.

Why This Matters to Investors

Deckers faced concerns last year over the impact tariffs could have on prices, the company's margins and consumer demand. Those concerns may have eased as the quarterly report shows strong sales growth.

Deckers CEO Stefano Caroti said the company sees "meaningful untapped global opportunities for HOKA," with the ability to continue growing sales both in the U.S. and abroad as the brand's distribution widens. Caroti said Deckers expects Hoka to continue being its fastest growing brand "with significant potential for international expansion and consistent progress in the US supported by effective marketplace management," per an AlphaSense transcript.

A year ago, Deckers stock tumbled from record highs following an earnings report that included a disappointing outlook. Shares remained under pressure for much of the year amid concerns over the impact of tariffs on the shoe maker's margins and customer demand.

Entering Friday, Deckers shares were down 55% in the last 12 months. With this morning's big gain, the stock is trading at its highest level since September at $111, still a far cry from the record high above $220 set last January.

News of the day for Jan. 30, 2026

President Trump selected former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as Fed chair.

Tierney L. Cross / Bloomberg / Getty Images

Stock futures are lower Friday as investors evaluate a flurry of earnings reports and a major announcement from the White House; President Donald Trump said Friday that former Fed governor Kevin Warsh is his nominee to be the next Federal Reserve Chair; gold and silver prices are tumbling after hitting a series of record highs recently; Apple, Sandisk and Visa each topped estimates in earnings reports after the bell Thursday, with more reports from major companies out this morning; and a deal looks to have been reached to avoid a government shutdown. Here's what you need to know today.

Stock Futures Point Lower for January's Final Day of Trading

Stocks are poised to open lower this morning to cap off a volatile week of trading as investors digest another barrage of earnings reports. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were each down 0.4% recently, while those linked to the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 0.5%. Futures were pointing to even sharper losses earlier Friday before President Trump announced his Fed Chair selection. (more on that below) The major indexes ended mixed on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq losing ground as a number of tech stocks including Microsoft fell sharply, while the Dow inched higher. The major indexes remain on track to post gains for the month.

Bitcoin was at $82,600 in recent trading, down from a high of about $89,000 yesterday and trading around its lowest levels since last April. Gold futures dropped to about $5,075 an ounce, after surging to a record high above $5,500 yesterday. Crude oil futures were down slightly at $65.15 per barrel, after hitting a four-month high yesterday amid geopolitical concerns. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of loans, ticked higher to 4.25% this morning.

Trump Announces Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair Pick

President Trump said Friday that he is nominating Kevin Warsh to be the central bank's next chair, replacing Jerome Powell when his term ends in May. Warsh previously served as a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011. "I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best," Trump said in a Friday morning social media post. Trump said Thursday night that he planned to announce his pick this morning, with multiple media reports overnight saying that Warsh was the expected choice. The White House has spent months interviewing candidates in a process that at times also included National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett as a favorite for the job, along with others from within the banking sector and government. Powell's term as Fed Chair ends in May, though he has the option to remain a Fed Governor for the remaining two years of his term. Trump has been highly critical of Powell for not overseeing more aggressive interest rate cuts at the Fed.

Gold, Silver Sink from Recent Record Highs

After recent rallies that led the precious metals to record highs, gold and silver futures are each tumbling Friday morning as some investors take profits. Gold futures were recently down 4.6% at $5,075 per ounce, after surging above $5,500 yesterday. Silver futures sank 13% to $99.80 an ounce, down from yesterday's high above $114. The safe haven assets, after surging in 2025, have extended that hot streak into this year amid uncertainty around the Trump administration's actions abroad in Venezuela, Greenland and Iran. Investors often turn to precious metals as stores of value during times of geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

Big Earnings Week Comes to a Close With Apple, Sandisk, and More

The week's run of tech earnings reports continued into Thursday evening with Apple (AAPL) posting solid results after the closing bell, though shares were down slightly this morning. Shares of Sandisk (SNDK), one of the market's hottest stocks to start the year, are soaring more than 20% in premarket trading after the computer storage device maker topped estimates and projected more profit growth than analysts had expected. Visa (V) shares are down slightly despite a better-than-expected quarterly report from the credit card giant last night. Among the companies releasing results this morning, American Express (AXP) shares were down 2%, ExxonMobil (XOM) slipped 1% and Chevron (CVX) was little changed, while Verizon (VZ) and Colgate-Palmolive (CL) gained ground.

Senate, White House Reportedly Have Deal to Avoid Shutdown

Democrats in Congress and the White House have a deal to fund most of the government through the end of the fiscal year in September, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday night. After spending bills passed the House but stalled in the Senate earlier this week, a shutdown appeared likely amid negotiations over Department of Homeland Security funding. Democrats have pushed for more restrictions to be placed on Trump's immigration crackdown after Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents have come under fire for harsh tactics in recent weeks. Under the current deal, five of the six spending bills currently in the chamber would pass, with a two-week extension given to DHS funding to allow for more talks, the Journal reported. "Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together to get the vast majority of the Government funded until September," Trump said in a social media post, adding that he hopes "both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed Bipartisan “YES” Vote."