US Equity Markets Fall as Treasury Yields Rise on Fed Chair Speculation

04:31 PM EST, 01/16/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Major US equity indexes eased Friday as government bond yields rose after President Donald Trump signaled Kevin Hassett, the National Economic Council director, may remain in his current role and is no longer the frontrunner to become the next chair of the Federal Reserve.

* Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh became the leading candidate for central bank chair after Trump's remarks on Hassett, multiple media outlets reported.

* The National Association of Home Builders' monthly housing market index fell to 37 in January from 39 in December, compared with expectations for 40 in a Bloomberg survey.

* US industrial production rose by 0.4% in December, versus expectations for a 0.1% increase.

* February West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose $0.31 to settle at $59.50 per barrel, while March Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $0.44 at $64.19.

* Micron Technology (MU) shares rose 7.8%, the second-biggest gain on the S&P 500, after the company broke ground on a $100 billion memory manufacturing complex in Onondaga County, New York, which will include up to four chip-manufacturing plants.

* Shares of power companies fell after multiple media outlets reported that the Trump administration is pushing for technology firms to shoulder the costs of new power plants tied to a surge in construction of AI data centers. Constellation Energy (CEG) shares slumped 9.8%, the largest drop on the S&P. Vistra (VST) declined 7.5%, and NRG Energy (NRG) shed 4.1%.

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