Equities Rise Intraday Amid Probe Into Fed Chair Powell

02:27 PM EST, 01/12/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were higher intraday, while gold prices hit new records as markets reacted to news of a criminal probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.4% at 23,767.6 after midday Monday, while the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 6,977.6. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1% to 49,533.4. On Friday, the Dow and the S&P 500 closed at new record highs.

Among sectors, consumer staples paced the gainers intraday Monday, while financials saw the biggest drop.

On Sunday, Powell said federal prosecutors served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas threatening a criminal indictment linked to his earlier testimony regarding the multi-year renovation of the central bank's office buildings. Powell suggested the probe reflected continued efforts by the Trump administration to influence monetary policy.

Former Fed Chairs Janet Yellen, Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan condemned the probe. "The reported criminal inquiry into (Powell) is an unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks to undermine (the Fed's) independence," they said in a joint Monday statement, which had other signatories too.

"Whether the White House's latest attempt to influence Fed policy succeeds or not is key to the medium- and long-term market implications," Macquarie Group said in a note to clients. "But if it does succeed, we foresee a weaker (US dollar), a steeper yield curve, higher long-term yields, and higher inflation breakevens as modal outcomes, all else equal."

US President Donald Trump called on the Fed to lower interest rates several times last year while also criticizing Powell. Powell's term as Fed chair is set to end in May.

Gold futures were last up 2.6% at $4,616.60 per troy ounce, while silver futures jumped 7.2% to $85.03 per ounce. Both touched new intraday peaks earlier in the session.

US Treasury yields were little changed, with the 10- and two-year rates almost steady at 4.17% and 3.53%, respectively.

In company news, Walmart (WMT) shares were up 3.7%, the top gainer on the Dow. The retail giant is set to join the Nasdaq 100 index prior to market open Jan. 20, replacing AstraZeneca (AZN) , Nasdaq said late Friday. AstraZeneca's (AZN) US-listed shares were down 1% intraday Monday.

Sun Country Airlines (SNCY) shares surged nearly 11%, while Allegiant Travel (ALGT) slumped 6.7%. The companies said Sunday that Allegiant agreed to acquire Sun Country in a cash-and-stock deal that values the latter at about $1.5 billion.

Some credit card issuers may see their revenue slashed by more than half as a result of a 10% interest rate cap floated by Trump last week, RBC Capital Markets said Monday in a client note.

RBC sees the proposal as a temporary headwind for credit card companies, with Synchrony Financial (SYF) and Bread Financial (BFH) seen as the "most exposed." The brokerage said it sees Capital One (COF) as "modestly" exposed and American Express (AXP) as "slightly" exposed.

Synchrony Financial (SYF) shares were down 8.5% intraday Monday, the worst performer on the S&P 500. Capital One sank 6.4%, while American Express (AXP) lost 4.2%, among the steepest declines on the index.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) , Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) are scheduled to release their latest quarterly results later this week, along with other major lenders such as Wells Fargo (WFC) , Morgan Stanley (MS) , Goldman Sachs (GS) and Bank of New York Mellon (BK) .

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 0.1% at $59.06 a barrel intraday Monday.

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