Stocks retreated on Friday as technology shares remained in a funk, even as investors largely approved of President Donald Trump's pick of Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve. Still, the S&P 500 squeaked out a January gain, despite Friday's losses and volatile trading this month.
The broad index fell 0.43% to finish at 6,939.03, its third straight down day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back 179 points, or 0.36%, to settle at 48,892.47. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite underperformed, dropping 0.94%, to end the day at 23,461.82. All three indexes fell more than 1% at session lows.
"I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best," said Trump in a Truth Social post.
Warsh's selection was likely to ease concern about Fed independence because of his experience as a Fed governor and strong stance at times against inflation. While he is likely to push for lower rates in short term as Trump wants, the financial markets view him as someone who wouldn't always follow the president's direction and maintain credibility for monetary policy.
The U.S. dollar rallied and U.S. Treasury yields held steady, signaling that investors appeared satisfied with Trump's pick.
"Kevin Warsh's nomination for Fed Chair is exactly what markets were hoping for, as he's a steady hand, well known in market circles and is expected to maintain the independence of the central bank, which is critical for markets," said Richard Saperstein, chief investment officer of Treasury Partners. "Most importantly, Warsh faces few hurdles when it comes to being confirmed by the Senate."
But other variables threw cold water on stocks in the session.
Spot gold and silver dropped around 9% and 28%, respectively. Over the past year, gold and silver futures have soared about 67% and 142%, respectively.
Retail investors have piled into trades tied to the precious metals, especially in recent weeks as a speculative bubble formed. The iShares Silver Trust (SLV), a popular choice among individual traders, plunged more than 28% in Friday's session, its worst day on record. Such a move can be indicative of forced selling, given that fundamentals rarely change on a trade so quickly, according to Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak.
"This has been the hottest asset for day traders and other short-term traders recently," Maley said. "There has been some leverage built up in silver. With the huge decline today, the margin calls went out."
Still, investors continued to parse through earnings reports.
Apple swung between gains and losses despite beating fiscal first-quarter expectations and reporting a significant surge in iPhone sales. That follows Microsoft's 10% post-earnings drop on Thursday, marking its worst day since 2020 and wiping out more than $350 billion in market cap. KLA Corp lost more than 15% on Friday after its forecast suggested a deceleration in growth.
But outside of tech, Verizon shares surged nearly 12%, marking their best day since 2008. The telecommunications giant beat analyst expectations and provided a strong full-year outlook for earnings.
Despite Friday's weakness, the major averages recorded a positive month. The S&P 500 and Dow logged gains of 1.4% and 1.7%, respectively, for January, while the Nasdaq notched a 1% gain. The small cap-focused Russell 20009 jumped more than 5% in the month.
— CNBC's Jeff Cox and Pippa Stevens contributed reporting.
