US equity indexes rose ahead of Monday's close, with the S&P 500 hitting a new all-time high, while precious metals broke records after the Department of Justice announced an investigation into the Federal Reserve.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3% to 23,744.5, the S&P 500 climbed 0.2% to 6,978.2, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.2% higher to 49,615.9. All three indexes traded sharply lower in the premarket.
Financials and energy led the decliners, while consumer staples were among the top gainers.
Powell said late Sunday the Justice Department had subpoenaed Fed records regarding a $2.5 billion upgrade of the central bank's headquarters and his related testimony before Congress. The Fed chief described the Trump Administration's actions as a "pretext" to influence the central bank's policies.
"The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President," according to Powell.
Trump, however, denied any involvement in the investigation during a Sunday night interview with NBC News. "I don't know anything about it, but he's certainly not very good at the Fed, and he's not very good at building buildings," according to Trump.
Silver futures soared 7.4% to $85.21 per troy ounce, and gold futures surged 2.3% to $4,605.40. Both gold and silver hit fresh records earlier in the session.
The ICE Dollar Index declined 0.2% to 98.90.
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