Weekly Market Bullets

for the week ending 1/30/2026

• US Equity Markets were mixed last week amid volatile earnings from mega-cap stocks, rising energy prices, and the announcement of a new Fed Chair nominee. The S&P 500 managed a 0.3% gain for the week and is now up 1.3% for the year. The Nasdaq was down 0.2% for the week to bring its gains for the year to 1.0%, while the Russell 2000 (small cap stocks) declined 2.1% for the week and is now up 5.3% for the year.

• Global Equity Markets rose last week, largely due to strong fund flows and continued weakness in the US Dollar. Developed Markets were up 1.1% for the week and are now up 4.7% for the year. Emerging Markets increased 1.8% for the week to bring their gains for the year to 8.8%.

• Energy Prices have risen notably to start the year. The price of oil closed the week at $65.74/barrel, up 14.5% so far this year and at a 4-month high. The move higher has been driven by investor concerns about a potential US strike in Iran that could tighten supplies as well as ongoing weakness in the US Dollar. US Natural Gas prices have also rallied sharply, up over 41% so far this year, mostly due to the extremely cold weather much of the US has experienced.

• After near historic rallies, both Silver and Gold posted their largest single day declines in decades. While Silver still remains up over 20% for the year, Silver saw a decline of over 30% on Friday, its largest single day drop since 1980. For its part, Gold fell about 13% on Friday, its largest single day decline since 1983, though it still remains up over 13% for the year. While profit-taking following a parabolic rally in prices is certainly one reason for the declines, investors generally view the new Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh as less dovish than current Fed Chair Powell, likely sparking a sell-off.

Market Data

for the week ending 1/30/2026