The Weekend Rip: Feb 1
The Weekend Rip
Happy Weekend!
The market weathered a volatile stretch as record-breaking rallies in gold and silver spectacularly reversed following the nomination of Kevin Warsh for Fed Chair, which sent precious metals into a tailspin and boosted the U.S. dollar. Despite massive earnings beats from Apple and Meta, investor sentiment remained pressured by a healthcare sector bloodbath, staggering AI infrastructure costs, and the looming threat of a government shutdown.
Let’s recap and prep you for the week ahead. 📝
Monday ❄️: Markets climbed despite a major winter storm as gold broke $5,000 and silver surged past $117, signaling a massive “debasement trade” shift away from the U.S. dollar. Healthcare insurers like UnitedHealth and CVS plummeted after hours following a White House proposal to aggressively cap Medicare Advantage rate increases for 2027. Meanwhile, the U.S. government signaled a new “nationalization” trend by taking a 10% equity stake in USA Rare Earth to secure domestic mineral supplies.
Tuesday 📉: Major indexes hit record highs even as a healthcare sector bloodbath, led by UnitedHealth’s 19% plunge, wiped out managed care gains following weak 2026 guidance and Medicare rate concerns. Markets are bracing for a potential government shutdown this weekend and a high-stakes Federal Reserve meeting tomorrow amid ongoing political pressure on Chair Powell. Investors remain laser-focused on the “AI Hope Economy” as massive tech earnings from Microsoft, Meta, and Tesla loom in the after-hours Wednesday.
Wednesday ⚖️: The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at 3.50% to 3.75%, sparking a “wait-and-see” mood that sent gold and silver to historic highs. While the S&P 500 and Nasdaq touched record levels, mixed earnings from the “Mag 7” saw Tesla pivot toward robotics and Microsoft slide 7% on massive AI infrastructure spending. Small-cap momentum remained stalled as investors weighed heavy capital expenditures against a stabilizing labor market.
Thursday ❄️: Microsoft and major software players dragged the market lower as a 94% surge in the U.S. trade deficit and a looming government shutdown chilled investor sentiment. Microsoft’s stock tanking didn’t help either. Despite tech volatility and falling gold prices, Apple delivered a massive earnings beat with record revenue of $144B, while Southwest Airlines skyrocketed 18% following a total business model overhaul. Meta also stood out by signaling an aggressive AI future, planning up to $135 billion in capital expenditures for 2026.
Friday 🐻: The market retreated as the nomination of Kevin Warsh for Fed Chair triggered a massive sell-off in precious metals, with silver plunging nearly 30% and gold dropping to $4,800. While the dollar saw its biggest gain in a year, tech and small-cap momentum stalled amid fears of a “power shock” to the utility sector and a looming government shutdown. Despite the broader decline, SanDisk soared on AI memory demand and Deckers hit record highs fueled by Hoka’s explosive growth.
🤩 This week’s Stocktwits Top 25 showed how momentum movers fared vs. the indexes.
Here are the closing prices:
THE BRIEF
Need a concise summary of what’s going on this week? Look no further. Here’s a rundown of this week’s earnings and economic data.
Earnings This Week
Above is a quick summary. Check out the full Stocktwits earnings calendar for the other names reporting this week.
Economic Calendar
In addition to the above, check out this week’s complete list of economic releases.
Links That Don’t Suck 🌐
🆘 Want to learn proven strategies for picking top stocks? Join IBD’s free online workshop on 2/7 *
🥇 Bitcoin’s break below $80,000 signals new crisis of confidence
📆 January jobs data, Alphabet and Amazon earnings, more Warsh fallout: What to watch this week
🧑✈️ Iran’s supreme leader warns any US attack would spark ‘regional war’
🥶 What to know about the partial government shutdown as funding lapses for many agencies
*3rd Party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Stocktwits. See disclosure here.
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