US stocks climb as gold and silver prices keep falling
[February 03, 2026] By
STAN CHOE
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose on Monday following sharp swings that
shook financial markets overnight, including tumbles for Asian stocks.
Gold and silver prices sank further following their latest wild moves.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 added 0.5% and snapped a three-day losing
streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 515 points, or 1.1%, and
the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6%.
Stocks of companies that make computer storage helped lead the market,
adding to gains from last week following several profit reports that
topped analysts’ expectations. Airlines and cruise-ship operators were
also strong, benefiting from a sharp easing of oil prices.
The center of action in financial markets was again precious metals,
where momentum has suddenly halted after gold’s price roughly doubled in
just 12 months.
Gold briefly dropped below $4,500 per ounce in the overnight hours, down
more than $1,000 from its high point reached just last week. It then
climbed back above $4,800 before settling at $4,652.60, down 1.9% from
Friday.
Silver’s price has been on an even wilder ride recently, and it swung
from a 9% loss overnight to a modest gain and back to a loss of 1.9%.
Gold and silver prices had surged as investors looked for safer things
to own amid a wide range of worries, including a Federal Reserve that
may be set to become less independent, a U.S. stock market that critics
say is expensive, threats of tariffs and heavy debt loads for
governments worldwide.
Their prices cratered on Friday, including a 31.4% plunge for silver.
Some on Wall Street saw it as a result of President Donald Trump’s
nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Fed. Warsh’s
reputation as a former Fed governor may have raised expectations that he
may keep interest rates high to fight inflation, which would reduce the
need to hide out in gold and silver for protection.
But many on Wall Street are also skeptical of that initial reading and
say the expectation from Trump is likely that Warsh will cut interest
rates, something the president has been demanding. That could give the
economy a boost but also worsen inflation over the long term.
The Fed’s chair has a big influence on the economy and markets worldwide
by helping to dictate where the U.S. central bank moves interest rates.
That affects prices for all kinds of investments, as the Fed tries to
keep the U.S. job market humming without letting inflation get out of
control.
The recent swoons for gold and silver may also simply mark the return of
gravity for two investments whose price shot very high, very fast.
They’re likely more about the washout for some traders who had borrowed
money to bet on metals’ prices continuing to soar, rather than about a
wholesale change in expectations for demand for metals, according to
Darrell Cronk, chief investment officer for Wealth & Investment
Management at Wells Fargo.
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Trader Robert Charmak works on the floor of the New York Stock
Exchange, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
 On Wall Street, Sandisk leaped 15.4%
to lead the S&P 500. The data-storage company added to its 6.9% gain
from Friday, after it reported stronger profit for the latest
quarter than analysts expected. It credited demand created by the
artificial-intelligence boom, among other things.
That helped offset a 2.9% drop for Nvidia, whose chips are powering
much of the world’s move into AI technology. The losses were worse
in Asia, where AI winners plunged. South Korea’s Kospi fell 5.3%
from its record for its worst day in almost 10 months after chip
company SK Hynix lost nearly 9%.
The Walt Disney Co. fell 7.4% even though the entertainment giant
reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts
expected. It warned of challenges that are keeping international
visitors away from its U.S. theme parks, among other things.
Oil prices dropped more than 4% after Trump told reporters that Iran
is “seriously talking to us.” It’s a potential signal of improving
relations between the two countries, which could keep oil flowing
easily around the world.
The drop in oil prices could mean less painful fuel bills for
airlines and cruise ships. That helped Carnival steam 8.1% higher,
and United Airlines climb 4.9%.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 37.41 points to 6,976.44 and finished
just shy of its record set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average added 515.19 to 49,407.66, and the Nasdaq composite gained
130.29 to 23,592.11.
In the bond market, Treasury yields edged higher after a report said
that U.S. manufacturing grew last month, when economists were
expecting a contraction. The yield on the 10-year Treasury erased an
earlier dip and rose to 4.28%, up from 4.26% late Friday.
Such strong figures could persuade the Federal Reserve to stay on
pause with its cuts to interest rates. The next big set of data that
could sway the Fed was supposed to come on Friday, when the U.S.
government was due to update the nation’s unemployment rate. But
that report has been postponed because of the partial federal
government shutdown.
In stock markets abroad, European indexes rose roughly 1% following
a washout in Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.3%, while stocks fell
2.2% in Hong Kong and 2.5% in Shanghai.
___
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
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