Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Wednesday, January 28, 2026 in New York, USA.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
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. of S&P500 Despite Friday’s losses and volatile trading this month, it looked like it will squeeze out a profit for January.
While the general index fell by 0.5%, Nasdaq Composite 0.9% decrease. of Dow Jones Industrial Average It pulled back 241 points (0.5%). 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 were down about 11% and 30%, respectively. Over the past year, gold and silver have appreciated by 80% and 209%, 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)is popular among retail traders and plunged more than 26% in Friday trading. Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak, said such a move could signal a forced sell because fundamentals rarely change this 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 Revenues fell even though iPhone sales rose significantly, beating expectations for the fiscal first quarter. That slide is: 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 13% on Friday after forecasts suggested economic growth would slow.
But outside of technology, verizon The stock rose more than 11%, marking its best day since 2008. The telecom giant beat analysts’ expectations and gave a positive outlook for full-year earnings.
Despite Friday’s weakness, major averages were on track to turn positive for the month. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq all rose about 1% in January. Mainly small stocks russell 2000 It rose about 5% over the month.
—CNBC’s Jeff Cox and Pippa Stevens contributed reporting.
