Stocks fell on Friday as the turmoil in tech stocks continued even as investors largely approved of President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve. nevertheless, S&P500 Despite Friday’s loss and volatile trading this month, we squeezed out a profit for January.
The comprehensive index fell by 0.43% to end at 6,939.03, the third consecutive day of decline. of Dow Jones Industrial Average It pulled back 179 points (0.36%) and settled at 48,892.47. High-tech oriented Nasdaq Composite It underperformed, dropping 0.94% to end the day at 23,461.82. All three indexes were down more than 1% at their lows in trading.
“I have known Kevin for a long time and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the great Fed Chairs, and perhaps one of the best Fed Chairs,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Warsh’s selection could allay concerns about the Fed’s independence because of his experience as Fed governor and his sometimes strong stance on inflation. Although he is likely to push for interest rate cuts in the short term, as President Trump wishes, financial markets see him as someone who will not always follow the president’s instructions and maintain credibility in monetary policy.
The U.S. dollar strengthened and U.S. Treasury yields held steady, indicating investors appear satisfied with President Trump’s choices.
“Kevin Warsh’s nomination as Fed Chairman is exactly what the market expected, as he is well known to market participants as a solid figure and is expected to maintain the central bank’s independence, which is important to the market,” said Richard Saperstein, chief investment officer at Treasury Partners. “Most importantly, Mr. Warsh faces few hurdles with respect to Senate confirmation.”
But other variables poured cold water on the stock during the session.
Spot gold and spot silver fell about 9% and 28%, respectively. Over the past year, gold and silver futures have surged approximately 67% and 142%, respectively.
Retail investors have been rushing into trades related to precious metals, especially in recent weeks as a speculative bubble has formed. of iShares Silver Trust (SLV)which is popular among retail traders, plunged more than 28% in trading on Friday, its worst day on record. Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak, said such a move could signal a forced sell because fundamentals rarely change that quickly in a trade.
“This is the hottest asset for day traders and other short-term traders these days,” Maley said. “Silver had some leverage built up. Today’s big drop has eliminated margin calls.”
Still, investors continued to parse the earnings report.
apple The company beat expectations for its fiscal first quarter, swinging between a profit and a loss despite a strong increase in iPhone sales. Subsequently microsoft‘s earnings fell 10% on Thursday, its worst day since 2020, wiping out more than $350 billion in market capitalization. KLA Corporation It fell more than 15% on Friday after the outlook suggested growth would slow.
But outside of technology, verizon The stock rose nearly 12%, its best day since 2008. The telecom giant beat analysts’ expectations and gave a positive outlook for full-year earnings.
Despite Friday’s weakness, the major averages posted positive monthly gains. The S&P 500 and Dow rose 1.4% and 1.7%, respectively, in January, while the Nasdaq rose 1%. Mainly small-cap stocks Russell 20009 It rose more than 5% for the month.
—CNBC’s Jeff Cox and Pippa Stevens contributed reporting.
