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📉 TL;DR – Last Week in 60 Seconds
Precious metals reversed hard into Friday: gold and silver sank as leveraged trades unwound. The trigger was Donald Trump nominating Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve, replacing Jerome Powell in May. Stocks ended mixed—big tech and small caps slipped, while the S&P 500 stayed afloat—as investors juggled earnings, hotter wholesale inflation data, and “what happens next” on rates.
Crypto slid too; Bitcoin and Ether ETFs saw nearly $1B of outflows in a single day. The dollar was choppy, but the message was clear: investors hate uncertainty about who sets the next policy tone.
Quick Levels → Last week’s change
S&P 500: 6,939.02 | ↑0.34% Nasdaq 100: 25,552.39 | ↓0.21% Dow: 48,892.48 | ↓0.42% Russell 2000: 2,613.74 | ↓2.08% | Gold/oz: $4,753 | ↓1.85% Silver/oz: $81.89 | ↓17.60% Bitcoin (BTC): $77,882 | ↓11.17% U.S. Dollar Index (DXY): 97.14 | ↓0.32% |
🚀 Top Movers Last Week
Source: Deckers Outdoor
SanDisk (SNDK) ↑21.62% — Blowout forecast on AI data-center storage demand; memory shortage talk kept bids hot.
Deckers Outdoor (DECK) ↑19.36% — Huge Q3 results: record revenue and EPS, with upbeat outlook for HOKA and UGG.
AT&T (T) ↑11.11% — Q4 earnings beat and 2026 outlook; new buyback* plus fiber deals lifted confidence.
Meta Platforms (META) ↑8.76% — Very strong quarter and upbeat guide; ad strength funded a big AI capex push.
Microsoft (MSFT) ↓7.65% — Azure growth disappointed and AI buildout costs rose; stock logged a rare weekly drop.
🗺 Market Map
Precious metals pullback: Gold and silver snapped lower after a month-long surge to fresh records. Profit-taking turned into forced selling when futures margin requirements rose, squeezing leveraged positions and dragging miners and related risk trades with them.
FOMC Meeting: The Fed held policy steady and repeated two things: growth is “solid,” inflation is still “elevated.” That kept rate-cut timing fuzzy—and made investors pay up for certainty over “maybe later.”
PPI ran warm: December Producer Price Index (PPI*) came in hotter than expected: final-demand prices ↑0.5% m/m, while core PPI* (ex food/energy/trade) ↑0.4%. Services did most of the pushing, keeping inflation nerves alive.
Big tech earnings: Big-tech earnings landed with a split personality: demand held up, but AI capex* plans keep climbing. Investors focused on whether cloud growth can justify the spending, with guidance driving bigger moves than past quarters.
This week’s jobs gauntlet: Markets get a tight sequence of labor reads—JOLTS, ADP private payrolls, weekly jobless claims—then Friday’s NFP* (with revisions). Any surprise can swing rates-sensitive sectors quickly.
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🛒 Buy Zone
Long-term investors: After the metals shakeout, hotter inflation prints, and with jobs week ahead, consider nudging toward “all-weather” exposure—quality dividend growers and healthcare—then add on broad-market pullbacks instead of chasing AI headlines. If you’re overweight shiny stuff after January’s run, rebalance back toward your target weight.
Short-term traders: Jobs week often means fake-outs. Watch the dollar and rate expectations after each release, then look for a post-data trend day after Friday’s NFP. If volatility jumps, keep size small, avoid holding big positions into the print, and use clear stop levels.
💡 Signal Spotlight
A new Fed Chair pick, a new “rulebook”
Markets are digesting Kevin Warsh as a potential Fed chair—and what his track record implies. He’s argued for lower rates and a smaller Fed balance sheet*, plus a tougher stance on what causes inflation.
Investors are now pricing a “policy remix” risk: easier rates may help growth, while balance-sheet shrinkage can still tighten conditions. This week’s labor data will shape expectations fast.
👀 What to Watch
Mon, Feb 2 — ISM Manufacturing PMI*: First monthly read on factory demand and pricing pressures.
Tue, Feb 3 — JOLTS*: Openings trend is a clean signal on hiring momentum.
Wed, Feb 4 — ISM Services PMI: Services inflation pressure matters more than factories right now.
Wed, Feb 4 — ADP private payrolls: sentiment mover ahead of Friday’s official jobs report.
Thu, Feb 5 — Weekly jobless claims: spikes can spark a quick “risk-off” move.
Thu, Feb 5 — U.S. Treasury quarterly refunding: Borrowing plan can ripple through bond markets.
Fri, Feb 6 — NFP (Nonfarm Payrolls): Wages and participation will drive the market reaction.
Fri, Feb 6 — University of Michigan sentiment: Inflation expectations can nudge markets late-week.
📚 Decoder
Buyback: Company repurchases its own shares; can boost earnings per share.
Capex (capital expenditures): Company spending on equipment, data centers, factories, and long-lived assets.
Core PPI: Producer inflation excluding food and energy; less noisy trend signal.
Fed balance sheet: The Fed’s assets and liabilities, built via bond-buying programs.
JOLTS (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey): U.S. jobs report; tracks labor market tightness.
NFP (Nonfarm Payrolls): Monthly U.S. jobs report excluding farm workers; moves rate expectations.
PMI: Survey index of business activity; 50 splits growth from contraction.
PPI (Producer Price Index): measures inflation at the wholesale level.
🕔 That’s your 5-minute guide to start the week. There’s more info out there…dive in! News is free; risk isn’t.
We’ll be back to check-in on Thursday at 7 AM ET.
Educational only—not investment advice.
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