New York, January 30, 2026, 17:01 ET — After-hours
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 179.09 points, or 0.36%, closing at 48,892.47 on Friday. The decline followed Donald Trump’s announcement of Kevin Warsh as his choice to lead the Federal Reserve, alongside inflation data coming in hotter than anticipated. The S&P 500 lost 0.43%, while the Nasdaq slid 0.94%. Despite the slip, the Dow still posted a 1.7% gain for January. “You’ve got uncertainty… new priorities, perhaps new monetary direction,” said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Asset Management. 1
Investors spent the day adjusting expectations for rates under a Warsh-led Fed, while juggling a late-week risk mix: mixed megacap earnings, a stronger U.S. dollar, and fresh shutdown chatter out of Washington. “Markets are calibrating to Trump’s pick… and the outlook for monetary policy,” said Michael Hans, chief investment officer at Citizens Wealth. Angelo Kourkafas at Edward Jones highlighted the combined impact of the Fed-chair announcement, stubborn inflation, and the threat of a brief funding impasse. 2
The Producer Price Index, or PPI—which tracks the prices businesses get for goods and services—increased by 0.5% in December, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prices for services jumped 0.7%, while goods prices held steady. Meanwhile, the “core” PPI, which excludes food, energy, and trade services, rose 0.4%. 3
The Warsh nomination is now headed to the Senate. Fed Governor Stephen Miran told CNBC he expects Warsh to take over his expiring governor seat, which runs out on January 31. This highlights the tight timing between politics and the Fed’s upcoming policy meeting. 4
Earnings remained a focal point. Microsoft shares dropped 10% Thursday after cloud revenue missed expectations, raising fresh doubts about whether its heavy OpenAI-related spending will pay off soon. “Microsoft disappointed and there are some genuine concerns that AI investments will eat the software companies’ lunches,” said John Praveen, managing director and co-CIO at Paleo Leon. Apple beat revenue forecasts, with CEO Tim Cook telling Reuters that demand for its newest iPhone was “staggering.” Meta Platforms combined a strong outlook with a sharp rise in capex — shorthand for capital expenditures or spending. 5
Rate expectations barely budged this week. The Fed kept its policy rate steady at 3.5%–3.75% on Wednesday, and traders pushed back bets on the next cut to June after the central bank stuck to a familiar refrain: inflation stays stubbornly high. “Whether you were bullish or bearish… you walked away feeling about the same,” said Michael James, an equity sales trader at Rosenblatt Securities. 6
The downside remains straightforward. Should producer-price inflation spill over into consumer prices, the Fed might hold its ground regardless of who sits in the chair, tightening the leash on the market’s “soft-landing” hopes. A drawn-out nomination battle or earnings revealing margin pressure from heavy AI spending could easily turn Friday’s stumble into a deeper slide.
Coming Monday at 10:00 a.m. ET, the ISM manufacturing PMI will provide a snapshot of factory activity. Then on Friday, February 6 at 8:30 a.m. ET, the January U.S. jobs report hits. Investors are also focused on the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, the Fed’s favored inflation measure, due February 20. 7
