U.S. equities opened the week strongly, with the S&P 500 reaching a fresh record high on Wednesday. However, sentiment turned lower on Friday, leaving markets mixed for the week overall. The S&P 500 ended slightly higher, while the NASDAQ and Dow both posted marginal declines, marking a third consecutive week of small losses for those indexes.
On Friday, President Trump nominated former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell when Powell’s term as chair expires in mid-May. Warsh will require Senate confirmation. The announcement came shortly after the Fed kept its benchmark rate unchanged, beginning a pause following rate cuts at its previous three meetings.
Precious metals saw extreme volatility. Gold and silver surged to record highs on Thursday before reversing sharply on Friday after the Fed chair nomination. Gold futures dropped back below $4,900 per ounce late Friday, after reaching as high as $5,586 the day before. Silver experienced an even steeper decline, falling to roughly $82 per ounce after peaking near $121 on Thursday.
Despite the week’s mixed finish, U.S. stocks maintained modest upward momentum for January, with all three major indexes posting monthly gains of roughly 1% to 2%. The S&P 500 recorded its eighth positive month out of the past nine, while the Dow extended its streak to nine straight monthly advances.
Earnings expectations continued to improve as reporting season progressed. FactSet data showed analysts projecting fourth-quarter earnings growth of 11.9% for S&P 500 companies as of Friday, up from an 8.2% forecast the prior week, based on results from about one-third of firms that had reported so far along with estimates for those still to come.
Oil prices moved sharply higher. U.S. crude futures rose nearly 7% for the week to about $66 per barrel, the highest level in more than four months. While oil is up roughly 13% year to date, it remains below levels seen in early 2025.
Looking ahead, investors will focus on Friday’s monthly employment report for further insight into labor market conditions. December payroll growth came in at just 50,000 jobs, closing out a year in which monthly job gains averaged 49,000—less than one-third of the 168,000 average recorded in 2024.