4:15pm: Crucial week
Stocks wrapped up the session on a mostly upbeat note, with the major averages grinding higher as investors positioned ahead of a busy week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average led the way, climbing 0.6%, or 314 points, to finish at 49,412. The S&P 500 added 0.5% to close at 6,950, while the Nasdaq edged up 0.4%, gaining about 100 points to end at 23,601. Small caps lagged, with the Russell 2000 slipping 0.4%.
Attention now shifts to what could be a pivotal stretch for markets, with a flood of earnings on deck. Four members of the so-called “Magnificent Seven” report this week, with Microsoft, Meta, and Tesla all set to deliver results on Wednesday, followed by Apple on Thursday. Investors will be listening closely for updates on AI spending plans, particularly after Intel’s downbeat outlook last week raised fresh questions about the pace of the AI buildout.
Adding to the drama, the Federal Reserve wraps up its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday. The central bank is widely expected to hold rates steady, but the bigger question is how long it waits before making its next cut. With policymakers divided and tensions with the White House simmering, every word from the Fed will be parsed.
Meanwhile, precious metals stole some of the spotlight. Gold held above the $5,000-an-ounce mark, while silver surged to fresh record highs, briefly topping $115 per troy ounce before giving back some gains. Both metals remained near all-time highs as a weaker US dollar continued to provide support.
3:30pm: Proactive news headlines
- Argentina Lithium & Energy said it plans a “best efforts” private placement of up to C$4.3 million, selling about 26.1 million units at C$0.165 each to fund its lithium development activities.
- Thor Explorations said it completed a pre-feasibility study and updated NI 43-101 mineral resources and reserves for its 100%-owned Douta gold project in Senegal, supporting the project’s development outlook.
- Orosur Mining said ongoing infill drilling at the Pepas prospect within its Anzá project in Colombia has strengthened the definition of thick, high-grade gold mineralisation as it advances toward a NI 43-101 resource estimate.
- Pan African Resources reported a 51% jump in half-year gold production to 128,296 ounces and said it remains on track to meet full-year output guidance.
2:30pm: Market movers
- IonQ said it agreed to acquire U.S. semiconductor foundry SkyWater Technology in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $1.8 billion, giving IonQ in-house manufacturing capabilities for its quantum computing systems.
- Sarepta Therapeutics reported positive three-year topline results from its Phase 3 EMBARK study, showing its gene therapy ELEVIDYS significantly slowed disease progression in ambulatory Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients versus an external control group.
- Nvidia invested $2 billion in AI infrastructure provider CoreWeave, deepening their strategic partnership as demand for large-scale AI computing continues to accelerate.
- USA Rare Earth said it signed a preliminary agreement with the U.S. government under the CHIPS Act for a potential $1.6 billion strategic investment to support domestic rare earth and magnet production.
1:10pm: Energy sector strong
Energy led S&P 500 sectors last week, rising 3.1% on the back of strong earnings from Halliburton, Kinder Morgan, and SLB, while underlying commodity strength added momentum. Natural gas drew particular attention, with futures jumping 70% amid severe winter storms, supply disruptions, and soaring heating demand. Frigid temperatures also pressured oil production in the Bakken and Permian basins, partially offsetting a bearish government storage report.
Geopolitical developments further bolstered the sector. Optimism for a near-term Russia-Ukraine peace deal faded following inconclusive talks and a large-scale airstrike on Kyiv, while tensions in Iran prompted the US to mobilize naval assets in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.7%, marking its fifth consecutive weekly gain, the longest streak since summer 2023.
Technically, the sector cleared resistance from its 2014 and 2024 highs, signaling a breakout from a multi-year range. “Based on the size of the prior consolidation, a minimum technical-based price objective for the sector sets up near 925, representing just over 20% of potential upside from current levels,” said Adam Turnquist of LPL Financial. Buying pressure was broad, with roughly 95% of sector stocks above their 200-day moving averages and nearly one-third hitting new 52-week highs.
12:05pm: Silver, gold surges
Silver has surged 8% to a record $112 an ounce, while gold topped $5,000, fueled by a weaker US dollar, heightened geopolitical tensions, and strong speculative demand.
“A weak US dollar in 4-month lows, heightened geopolitical tensions around Iran, and speculative demand drive precious metals like gold and silver to record highs," Axel Rudolph, Chief Technical Analyst at IG, said:
Other commodities also saw notable moves, with US natural gas jumping 20% to $6.33/MMBtu amid cold weather, extending last week’s near 70% rally—the largest weekly gain since records began in 1990. Meanwhile, oil prices gave back some of their recent gains after four consecutive weeks of increases.
11:10am: Winter storm could hit GDP growth
The winter storm that blanketed large swaths of North America over the weekend is likely to deliver a significant hit to US economic growth in the first quarter of 2026, potentially shaving between 0.5 and 1.5 percentage points off annualized GDP growth, according to Bank of America.
The bank said its initial estimate is based on historical comparisons with Winter Storm Viola, which disrupted large parts of the US in February 2021 and led to a sharp, though temporary, pullback in consumer spending.
Despite the near-term hit, Bank of America said the economic impact from Fern is unlikely to be lasting, with lost output expected to be partially recouped in the second quarter.
“This means there is as much upside to Q2 GDP growth as there is downside to Q1,” the bank said, adding it remains bullish on the broader economic outlook.
10:40am: Week ahead
Wall Street is heading into a crowded and potentially volatile week, with Big Tech earnings and a Federal Reserve decision taking centre stage as investors look for clarity on growth, inflation and where interest rates are headed next.
The earnings calendar alone is enough to keep traders glued to their screens. Apple, Microsoft and Meta Platforms headline the week, alongside results from Tesla, Boeing, Visa, Mastercard, Exxon Mobil and Chevron.
Before investors get those earnings answers, they’ll first hear from the Federal Reserve. The central bank is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at Wednesday’s meeting, but that doesn’t mean it will be a non-event.
Deutsche Bank agrees the Fed will stand pat, but thinks the tone could turn slightly more upbeat. The bank said it expects policymakers to upgrade their view of growth to a “solid pace” and to sound “somewhat more sanguine on the labor market,” while still stressing that inflation remains “somewhat elevated.”
Investors will also be digesting consumer confidence, durable goods orders, weekly jobless claims, producer price inflation and the Chicago PMI, all of which will help shape expectations for growth and inflation heading into February.
10am: Stocks open higher
Wall Street stocks have opened higher at the start of the week.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both were up almost 0.5% higher in early trading on Monday, while the Dow Jones and Russell 2000 edged up 0.3%.
Among big names, Apple, Broadcom and Oracle all climbed more than 2%.
Top risers on the S&P were auto parts group LKQ Corp, up 10% and cloud specialist Arista Networks, rising 6.7%.
Holding back the Dow were falls for insurer UnitedHealth Group, down 1.85%, followed by Boeing and Amazon.
8am: Nasdaq and S&P futures slightly in red
US stock futures were trading slightly lower as Wall Street heads into a pivotal week, with a Federal Reserve decision and earnings from four of the 'Magnificent Seven' tech giants.
Dow Jones futures are flat, while those for the S&P 500 are down 0.08% and the Nasdaq is 0.2% weaker, with investors preparing for busy round of corporate earnings and Wednesday’s Federal Reserve policy decision.
Last week saw a choppy five days of trade, with the major indices ending in the red despite a stronger finish on Friday. The Dow dropped 0.6%, the S&P edged down 0.4%, and the Nasdaq lost 0.3% over the week.
Tech earnings take centre stage this week. Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Tesla all report on Wednesday, followed by Apple on Thursday. These four ‘Mag 7’ names, making up 16% of the S&P 500 by market cap, are expected to offer critical insight into the durability of the AI-led growth story that has helped power the broader market rally.
Earlier Asian stocks finished mostly in the red, led by losses for Japan's Nikkei 225, while European shares were mixed.
Gold surged to a new record high above $5,090 per ounce, silver was up 7% to $110.20 per oz, and the VIX volatility index is up more than 6%, a sign that volatility may just be warming up. WTI crude oil was largely flat, down 0.2% to $60.9 a barrel.
The DXY dollar index gapped down to a four-month low overnight, not far from the three-and-a-half-year low hit back in September.
Partly this reflected a huge move higher in the Japanese yen at the end of last week, which resumed in the early hours before flattening off, with a Bloomberg report suggesting that Japanese officials had been joined by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York who bought yen to support the currency.
"The Japanese yen was a major contributor to the US dollar’s weakness," said market analyst David Morrison at Trade Nation.
Physical intervention from officials in Japan and elsewhere does not appear to have been unnecessary so far, he added. "But markets are now on notice that a USDJPY rate of 160.00 appears to be the red line for monetary authorities."
Over the weekend, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed that Ottawa was not planning to pursue a free trade agreement with China, in response to US President Donald Trump threatening 100% tariffs.
On the upcoming corporate earnings, Morrison said: “This week is less about headline beats and more about the quality and durability of growth.”
As for the Fed, no policy change is expected, but markets will be parsing every word from Chair Powell on the timing of a possible rate cut, with markets seeing around mid-year as most likely.
There's fresh speculation over Powell’s successor, ahead of his term ending in May, and more political drama looms too, with another government shutdown deadline approaching Friday.
The odds of another US government shutdown from this coming Friday jumped from 8% on Friday to 78% this morning on prediction markets, following Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer's warning that his party will block the spending package after shoots at protests in Minnesota linked to Trump's immigration crackdown.
Also, the perceived chances of Rick Rieder, CIO at BlackRock, of becoming the next Fed chair surged from around 33% as Europe closed on Friday to over 60% at one point over the weekend, before settling at 47% this morning. Previous front-runner Kevin Warsh was trading at 29%, down from 65% a week ago.
It’s thought that President Trump will name his pick as the new Fed Chair sometime this week.