MARKET SNAPSHOT
U.S. stocks fell as markets weighed President Trump's pick for the next Fed chair, and Treasury yields were mixed. The dollar strengthened, while gold and silver plummeted. Oil futures settled lower amid signs of willingness on the part of the U.S. and Iran to hold talks.
MARKET WRAPS
EQUITIES
Stocks fell after investors finally learned President Trump's pick to run the Federal Reserve: former Fed governor-turned-critic Kevin Warsh.
Major U.S. indexes fell, led by the Nasdaq composite, which finished 0.9% lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%, and the S&P 500 lost 0.4%.
Some market participants see Warsh as a relatively safe option, given his Fed experience and his track record as an inflation hawk, or supporter of tight monetary policy. That could make him more resistant to calls from the administration to slash interest rates, a prospect that helped the dollar and hammered precious metals Friday.
Trump, who settled on Warsh after a monthslong search, said he had "no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best."
Earlier Friday, Asian equities closed largely down.
China's benchmark Shanghai Composite declined 1%. The Shenzhen Composite ended 0.8% lower, while the ChiNext Price Index rose 1.3%.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1%, while miners and pharmaceutical companies dragged Hong Kong's Hang Seng down 2.1%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index dropped 0.7%.
New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Index increased 0.6%.
COMMODITIES
Oil futures posted their sharpest weekly gains since October as expectations of potential U.S. military action against Iran raised concerns about supply disruption, while the loss of U.S. production to winter storm Fern added to bullishness.
Prices slipped amid signs of willingness on the part of the U.S. and Iran to hold talks.
"Global supplies remain ample. However, demand remains a bit stronger than expected, and the latest cold spell has hampered U.S. production," said Dennis Kissler of BOK Financial.
WTI settled down 0.3% at $65.21 a barrel for a 6.8% gain on the week. March Brent went off the board practically flat at $70.69 a barrel, but up 7.3% on the week.
Gold settled down 11% Friday, and silver dropped 31%, with both metals also down on the week. For the month, gold and silver both ended higher.
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
Trump Picks Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair
WASHINGTON-President Trump said Friday he would nominate Kevin Warsh to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, choosing a former Fed official who has aligned himself with the president's criticism of the central bank.
"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. On top of everything else, he is 'central casting,' and he will never let you down, " Trump said in a post on his social-media account.
Warsh served on the Fed's board of governors from 2006 to 2011, playing crucial behind-the-scenes roles in Washington's rescue of Wall Street during the financial crisis. If confirmed by the Senate, he would succeed Jerome Powell, whose term as chair expires in mid-May.
Fed's Musalem Rejects Further Rate Cuts
St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said Friday that he would be reluctant to support further interest rate cuts, given that inflation has remained stuck above the Federal Reserve's 2% target.
Speaking at an economists' luncheon in Rogers, Ark., Musalem said he agreed with the Fed's decision to hold interest rates steady this week and believes that at 3.5% to 3.75%, the Fed's rate target is no longer high enough to exert a significant drag on the economy. Persistent price increases should dissuade the Fed from bringing rates lower in order to support the economy, he said.
"With inflation above target and the risks to the outlook evenly balanced, I believe it would be unadvisable to lower the rate into accommodative territory at this time," Musalem said.
Gold and Silver Prices Fall Sharply as Trump Picks Warsh as Fed Chair. Here's Why.
Gold and silver dropped sharply on Friday as markets reacted to the news that President Donald Trump had selected Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as head of the Federal Reserve.
Continuous gold futures suffered their worst one-day decline on record as they settled at $4,745, down 11%. Most-active silver futures settled down 31% at $78.53 for their largest same-day drop since plunging nearly 32% in March 1980.
Both metals scaled to record highs-of $5,626.80 and $121.785, respectively-earlier this week, capping off a month of big gains. The selling began Thursday but intensified on Friday.
Senate Set to Vote on Deal Ahead of Partial Government Shutdown
WASHINGTON-With just hours to go before a partial government shutdown, the Senate was grinding toward a vote Friday on a bipartisan deal that would fully fund most of the federal government, while giving lawmakers more time to wrangle over new restrictions on immigration enforcement.
The deal would pass five bills funding most agencies through September and provide two weeks of funding for the Department of Homeland Security. If the proposal passes the Senate, it would still need to be passed by the House, which isn't scheduled to return to consider the measures until Monday, setting the stage for at least a brief partial shutdown.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) laid out a series of amendment votes Friday afternoon, putting a final vote likely around dinnertime.
Wholesale Prices Rose More Than Expected in December
Prices charged by U.S. producers for their products climbed by more than expected in December, the Labor Department said Friday.
The producer-price index increased by 0.5% in the final month of 2025, an uptick from a 0.2% rise in November. Analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected a 0.3% December increase.
The numbers are landing with a delay, as government statisticians continue working to catch up on reports delayed by last fall's government shutdown.
American Express Revenue Rises as High-Income Consumers Keep Spending
American Express said higher-income clients are spending on restaurants and luxury items, and that they continue to seek out its premium cards.
"We are encouraged by the strength and stability that we continue to see across our customer base," said Chief Executive Stephen Squeri in the company's fourth-quarter earnings call Friday. "We're really bullish from a consumer perspective."
The credit-card company said that in the fourth quarter restaurant spending rose 9%, while retail spending increased 10%. Spending at luxury merchants grew 15%, which reflects "the continued strength of our customer base," Squeri said.
Verizon Posts Strong Subscriber Gains Under New CEO
Verizon Communications gained a net 616,000 postpaid phone connections in the fourth quarter, with its chief executive calling the period a "critical inflection point."
The company posted its biggest quarterly combined mobile and broadband net additions since 2019.
Dan Schulman took over as CEO of the nation's largest wireless carrier in October with a mandate to execute cost cuts and a strategic turnaround after it lost ground to rivals. He ordered Verizon's largest-ever round of job cuts in November and called for the company to be "scrappier."
Expected Major Events for Monday
00:00/AUS: Jan Melbourne Institute Monthly Inflation Gauge
00:30/TAI: Jan Taiwan Manufacturing PMI
00:30/JPN: Jan Japan Manufacturing PMI
00:30/THA: Jan Thailand Manufacturing PMI
00:30/INA: Jan Indonesia Manufacturing PMI
00:30/PHI: Jan Philippines Manufacturing PMI
00:30/SKA: Jan South Korea Manufacturing PMI
00:30/MAL: Jan Malaysia Manufacturing PMI
00:30/AUS: Jan ANZ-Indeed Job Ads
01:45/CHN: Jan China Manufacturing PMI
04:00/INA: Dec Trade Balance
04:00/INA: Jan CPI
05:00/JPN: Jan Auto sales
05:30/AUS: Jan Commodity Price Index
08:00/TAI: Jan CIER PMI
13:00/SIN: Jan Singapore Purchasing Managers' Index $(PMI)$
21:45/NZ: Dec Building Consents Issued
23:00/SKA: Jan CPI
23:50/JPN: Jan Monetary Base
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 01, 2026 16:30 ET (21:30 GMT)
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