US Equity Markets Lower After Trump Nominates Kevin Warsh as Next Fed Chair

04:22 PM EST, 01/30/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes ended lower Friday after President Trump nominated Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair, pushing the dollar higher and precious metals into freefall.

* President Donald Trump has nominated former Fed governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell. Warsh is said to be a proponent of a smaller Fed balance sheet, an inflation hawk, and a critic of quantitative easing, according to media reports.

* The ICE US Dollar Index, which reflects the greenback's performance against a basket of the world's major currencies, rose 0.8% to 97.08.

* Gold futures sank 8.1% to $4,890.1 per troy ounce, and silver futures plunged 27% to $82.51 per troy ounce following the Fed chair nomination announcement.

* The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday the Producer Price Index rose by 0.5% in December following a 0.2% increase in November, above the 0.2% gain expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

* March West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose $0.39 to settle at $65.81 per barrel, while March Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $0.01 to $70.70.

* Deckers Outdoor (DECK) stock was up roughly 19% after the company posted overnight higher fiscal Q3 earnings and net sales, and raised its fiscal 2026 outlook.

* KLAC (KLAC) shares were down nearly 15% after CFO Bren Higgins warned during an earnings call that equipment delivery lead times are longer than typical levels due to component shortages. Tariff costs are also impacting the bottom line, and the company is encountering challenges in meeting elevated demand for tools used in memory-chip production, he said.

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