Global markets stabilized on Tuesday after several days of intense volatility. European equities continued their ascent, reaching new record territories, while the S&P 500 index also looked poised to set another all-time high. Market sentiment received a boost as the sharp fluctuations in precious metals over recent days began to subside.
As of writing, Dow Jones futures were down 0.02%, S&P 500 futures were up 0.23%, and Nasdaq futures had gained 0.45%.
The European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.5%, extending the record high set on Monday, led by gains in banking and technology stocks. Germany's DAX climbed 1%, with Siemens Energy up 3.5% and Daimler Truck gaining 3%. Paris's CAC 40 advanced 0.6%, and the UK's FTSE 100 continued its upward trajectory after a record close on Monday, rising 0.2%.
S&P 500 futures increased by 0.2%, following a session where the index closed less than 3 points shy of its record closing high. Technology stocks led the market higher, with Nasdaq 100 futures climbing 0.5%.
Mega-cap tech stocks showed mixed performance: Apple dipped 0.8%, while Nvidia edged up 0.7%. Palantir Technologies surged 10% in premarket trading after the company issued strong earnings guidance.
Asian stock markets closed broadly higher, buoyed by a rebound in precious metals and a US-India trade deal, following gains on Wall Street overnight. South Korea's KOSPI index, often seen as a bellwether for AI-related trading, recorded its largest gain in nearly five years, with Samsung Electronics soaring 10%. Japan's Nikkei index closed up 3.9%, hitting a fresh record high.
Market sentiment stabilized as investors awaited key technology earnings reports.
Early Monday, a sharp sell-off in precious metals, combined with escalating concerns over Middle East tensions, triggered a decline across multiple asset classes. However, subsequent rebounds in gold and silver, alongside prospects for US-Iran negotiations, helped to alleviate investor anxieties.
Equities are regaining upward momentum after the precious metals slump prompted a pullback in risk assets. Robust US manufacturing data further bolstered optimism, indicating relatively solid underlying economic fundamentals in the US as earnings season progresses.
Roland Kaloyan, European Equity Strategist at Société Générale, stated, "Investors remain focused on the earnings season, which hasn't been bad so far, and market expectations are reasonable and not too difficult to meet. I don't see a reason for the momentum to shift in the near term."
Following the positive reception to Palantir's earnings, investors on Tuesday will turn their attention to AMD's results after the bell, watching for any signs that it can challenge Nvidia's dominance in the AI accelerator market.
Since October, AMD's stock has rallied more than 50%, while Nvidia's overall trend has been relatively range-bound. As traders increasingly look beyond the "Magnificent Seven" to a broader set of opportunities, the next phase of AI-related trading is spilling over into other names.
Jimmy Muchechetere, Equity Analyst at Investec Wealth and Investment, commented, "Money is flowing into the semiconductor sector, into memory chip stocks—if you're looking for outperformance in the short term, the opportunities lie in these areas."
The US dollar paused its recent rebound.
US Treasuries saw little change, with the 10-year yield at 4.28%. The market digested the impact of the January employment report being unable to be released as scheduled on Friday. The US Treasury yield curve continued to steepen. Christoph Rieger from Commerzbank Research noted, "The bond market is slowly adjusting to Warsh; the steepening trade might continue."
Eurozone government bond yields also edged higher, moving in tandem with US Treasuries amid a quiet start to the day. Germany auctioned green bonds, and Italy increased the issuance of new 15-year BTPs. The 10-year German Bund yield rose 1 basis point to 2.876%.
The US dollar ended its brief winning streak, with the Dollar Index falling 0.2% to 97.419. Michael Pfister of Commerzbank suggested that while Trump's nomination of Warsh briefly interrupted the market sentiment for a weaker dollar, the "underlying fundamental conditions haven't changed yet."
Additionally, US policy uncertainty remains high, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that Friday's nonfarm payrolls report would be delayed due to a partial government shutdown.
Bitcoin traded below $78,900. After hitting a 10-month low yesterday, it remained under pressure from continued selling by "whales," forced liquidations, and fragile sentiment. David Morrison, an analyst at Trade Nation, highlighted these factors as continuing to weigh on the market.
Gold and silver rebounded swiftly.
Gold bounced back on dip-buying, approaching $4,900; silver also moved higher, halting its sharp two-day decline.
Analysts at Sucden Financial stated, "Prices had previously moved far beyond levels typically associated with pure safe-haven demand related to geopolitical or macro uncertainty. Therefore, this correction appears not to be due to fading uncertainty, but more like the market clearing overly crowded positions."
Quek Ser Leang, Technical Strategist at UOB's Global Economics and Markets Research, noted in a research report that from a technical analysis perspective, the recent "fierce and relentless" rally in gold might have ended. Spot gold on Monday fell below its 55-day exponential moving average for the first time since August 2025, which often signals a potential pause in the prior uptrend. Concurrently, the daily MACD indicator has turned negative, and the daily RSI is retreating from deeply overbought levels. These signals suggest that the recent strong upward pressure may have eased for the time being.
Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG, said via email, "We have already seen some dip-buying at the lows." He added, "The fundamental story for the trade hasn't changed, but now investors need to ask themselves whether they truly believe in that story or were just captivated by one of the most impressive momentum runs in recent years."
Oil prices weakened amid signs of easing US-Iran tensions; officials from both countries are set to meet in Turkey this week. Brent crude fell 0.4% to $66 per barrel; WTI declined 0.3% to $60.84 per barrel. ING analysts suggested that the US-India trade deal might force Russia to tighten supplies as buyers dwindle.
The Nonfarm Payrolls report is delayed due to the US government shutdown.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics confirmed on Monday that the January employment report, originally scheduled for Friday, would not be released on time due to the partial government shutdown.
Emily Liddell, Deputy Commissioner of the BLS, stated in a declaration, "The Employment Situation report for January 2026 will not be released as scheduled on Friday, February 6, 2026.
The report will be rescheduled for release after government funding is restored." It remains unclear whether the Commerce Department will face report delays due to the impasse in Washington. This decision comes during a week packed with economic data releases, which was originally set to culminate with the Nonfarm Payrolls report.
The market had anticipated the report to show an addition of 55,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.4%.
Morgan Stanley: Fed under Warsh may "speak less," increasing US Treasury market volatility.
Morgan Stanley indicated that a Federal Reserve led by Kevin Warsh could heighten volatility in the US Treasury market due to reduced communication from the central bank.
Strategists Matthew Hornbach and Martin Tobias wrote in a January 30 report, "Warsh is not a fan of making markets overly dependent on the Fed's views. If the market's view differs from his judgment, he may not necessarily reinforce the market's perspective."
President Trump nominated Warsh last week to be the next Fed Chair, succeeding Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May. Warsh previously served as a Fed Governor from 2006 to 2011.
A review of Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes from that time by Morgan Stanley suggests Warsh preferred that investors form their own judgments on economic growth, inflation, and monetary policy.
Focus Stocks Space-related stocks rebounded in premarket trading, with Sidus Space surging nearly 15%, the "SpaceX concept fund" DXYZ rising over 8%, Redwire and EchoStar Communications gaining over 4%, and Rocket Lab up more than 3%.
Palantir jumped nearly 12% premarket after reporting earnings and guidance that双双 exceeded market expectations.
Intel gained over 2% premarket on reports that Apple might restart using Intel for foundry services.
Merck fell over 2% premarket after its 2026 sales guidance fell short of expectations.
Palladyne AI rose nearly 10% premarket after signing a contract with a primary US defense contractor.
Paypa dropped 16% premarket after reporting Q4 profits that missed estimates and appointing a new CEO.
HP declined 2.2% premarket as CEO Enrique Lores resigned to move to PayPal.
SanDisk continued its rise, gaining over 4% premarket after receiving collective target price hikes from major Wall Street banks post-earnings, with the highest target reaching $1,000.
Hesai Group rose about 4% premarket as the company plans to double its production capacity by 2026.
Pony.ai advanced 5.2% premarket, expanding its "AI + mobility" service track into the high-end market.
New Oriental Education & Technology gained 3% premarket, following a 6.4% surge in its H-shares today, buoyed by positive sentiment from several institutions.
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