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postUS stocks slid on Monday, pulling back from records amid concerns over Federal Reserve independence after US prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into Chair Jerome Powell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) sank 0.8%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.3%. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) dropped around 0.2% on the heels of all-time closing highs for Wall Street stocks.
Rattled markets are turning their backs on US assets after Powell said the Justice Department has subpoenaed the Fed, threatening criminal charges over his testimony on building renovations. In a strongly worded statement, Powell said the action is an escalation of President Trump’s campaign to pressure the Fed into cutting interest rates.
“The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,” Powell wrote, describing as “pretexts” the concerns cited in the subpoenas.
The DOJ moves and Powell’s sharp response promise to turn an already high-stakes White House-Fed struggle into open war. The developments have reinforced concerns over political interference in monetary policy — worries that helped send gold (GC=F) to fresh record peaks and the dollar (DX-Y.NYB) to its lowest level in three weeks.
In corporates, bank and other financial services stocks slumped thanks to a warning to credit card issuers from Trump. Lenders will be “in violation of the law” if they don’t cap interest rates at 10%, he told reporters on Sunday. Shares of Capital One (COF) slid 6% to lead early trading losses. Citi (C) and JPMorgan (JPM) also fell in a downbeat start to a week when big US banks will kick off earnings season.
The unsettled mood comes as investors get ready for this week’s updates on inflation in December, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading due on Tuesday. Markets were overwhelmingly betting on no rate cut from the Fed this month after Friday’s December jobs report showed continued cooling in the labor market without signaling a sharp economic slowdown.
Meanwhile, Wall Street kept a watchful eye on Iran, as public unrest edges the country toward revolution and Trump says the US is “looking” at military action as a response to a crackdown on protests. Oil prices retreated as investors weighed the potential impact on crude supply.
LIVE 17 updates
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Abercrombie stock tanks on disappointing outlook, drags down other retail stocks
On Monday, Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) provided an updated holiday quarter outlook that disappointed investors, leading the stock to tank as much as 20% in early trading.
Abercrombie said it expects fourth quarter net sales growth of 5%, the midpoint of its previous range of 4% to 6%.
The mall-based retailer also didn’t raise its fiscal year outlook of sales growth of at least 6%, which underwhelmed investors. Abercrombie narrowed its full-year net income per share guidance to $10.30 to $10.40 from a previous range of $10.20 to $10.50.
Concerns about lackluster holiday shopping trends spread to other retail stocks on Monday as well. Urban Outfitters (URBN) stock dropped 11%, while American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) fell 11%.
Read more here from Bloomberg.
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Meta hires former Trump advisor as president and vice chair
Meta (META) said Monday it has appointed President Trump’s former deputy national security advisor Dina Powell McCormick as its president and vice chair.
“Dina’s experience at the highest levels of global finance, combined with her deep relationships around the world, makes her uniquely suited to help Meta manage this next phase of growth as the company’s President and Vice Chairman,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Monday.
The company said McCormick will “ensure our multi-billion-dollar investments execute against our goals.” Meta is set to spend $71 billion in 2025, at the midpoint of its capital expenditure guidance range. The social media giant is building a massive AI data center in rural Louisiana as it looks to use artificial intelligence to bolster its core ad business and to rival cloud players Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), and Amazon (AMZN).
Meta has hired other Trump-linked personnel as Zuckerberg has worked to align the company with the current administration. In January, Meta brought on a former Trump deputy as its chief legal officer and a top former DOGE lawyer as a lobbyist.
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Apple set for longest losing streak since 1991
Apple (AAPL) shares fell fractionally Monday, with the stock eyeing a ninth consecutive day of decline — which would mark its longest losing streak since 1991, according to Bloomberg data.
Apple stock’s decline came even as closely-watched data from Counterpoint Research on Monday showed the company led the global smartphone market in 2025 with a 20% market share. The iPhone maker accounted for its highest-ever share of global shipments (25%) in the fourth quarter, according to Counterpoint.
Bernstein analyst Mark Newman said the results show Apple is “well on track” to meet Wall Street consensus estimates for iPhone sales — $78.16 billion, per Bloomberg data — in the first quarter of its fiscal year 2026.
Apple is set to report results for the quarter on Jan. 29.
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Stocks slide at the market open
US stocks slid on Monday at the market open, pulling back from last week’s rally to all-time highs as investor concerns mounted over Federal Reserve independence amid the Trump administration’s launch of a criminal investigation into Chair Jerome Powell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) sank 0.8%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) dropped around 0.2%.
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Tempus AI stock surges 12% premarket on record contract value
Tempus AI (TEM), an $11 billion artificial intelligence company, jumped 12% in premarket trading on Monday after disclosing it reached a record contract value of above $1.1 billion. The preliminary fourth quarter results also suggested a net revenue retention rate of 126% in 2025, the company said.
Tempus AI is a healthcare tech company that provides AI services and data to pharma companies, including players like AstraZeneca (AZN), GlaxoSmithKline (GLAXO.NS), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), Pfizer (PFE), Novartis (NVS), and Merck (MRK), among others.
The stock was the top trending ticker early on Monday.
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‘Yikes’: Credit card stocks sink after Trump proposes 10% cap on fees
Credit card stocks like Synchrony (SYF) and Capital One (COF) dropped as much as 10% in premarket trading on Monday after President Trump proposed limiting credit card fees to 10% on Friday. It’s not clear how Trump plans to cap card fees without Congress’s help in passing legislation.
The move, which Trump campaigned on in 2024, drew responses from bank analysts and trade groups on Monday. Yahoo Finance’s David Hollerith reports:
Read more here.
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‘Sell America’ trade is revived by Trump’s latest Fed attack
“Sell America” sentiment rippled through markets on Monday after the Trump administration escalated its attacks on the Fed. The DOJ’s threat of criminal charges stoked concerns over the central bank’s autonomy in setting interest rates.
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
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Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.
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Big banks kick off earnings, inflation data to test rate-cut bets: What to watch this week
Yahoo Finance’s Jake Conley and Myles Udland lay out the key events in the week ahead:
Read more here.
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Premarket trending tickers: Alibaba, Walmart, Affirm, and American Airlines
Alibaba’s (BABA) US shares rose 4% during premarket trading on Monday after China announced it will be launching a probe into competition practices in the food-delivery sector, increasing hopes that authorities will curb subsidy-driven price wars.
Walmart (WMT) stock rose 3% before the bell on Monday. The retailer will join the Nasdaq 100 Index (^NDX), replacing AstraZeneca Plc (AZN), Nasdaq Global Indexes said Friday.
Affirm Holdings (AFRM) stock climbed 4% before the bell on Monday. The Buy Now Pay Later company received some attention from Citi (C) analysts on Friday, who reiterated their Buy ratings on Affirm, alongside Klarna (KLAR) and Block (XYZ).
American Airlines’ (AAL) stock fell 3% during premarket trading. In a report released on Friday, analysts at Barclays (BCS) maintained a Hold rating on American Airlines, with a price target of $16.00.
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Sun Country jumps after Allegiant set to acquire budget airline for $1.5B
Sun Country Airlines (SNCY) stock rose 17% before the bell on Monday after Allegiant Travel (ALGT) agreed to purchase the budget airline in a cash and stock deal valuing Sun Country at about $1.5 billion, including $400 million in debt.
MT Newswire reports:
Read more here.
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Capital One shares fall after Trump calls for cap on credit card rates
Credit card companies, Capital One (COF) and American Express (AXP) stocks fell 8% and 4%, respectively, during premarket trading on Monday following President Trump’s comments that credit-card lenders would be in “violation of the law” if they don’t cap interest rates at 10% for one year.
Trump spoke to reporters on Air Force One as he returned to Washington from Florida and reinforced his demand that credit card companies should lower interest rates and keep them at 10% for one year. Trump has set a January 20 deadline for compliance.
Bloomberg News reports:
Read more here.
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Dollar drops by most in 3 weeks as Fed gets subpoenas
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
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Analyst reactions to DOJ investigation into Powell
Reuters sourced the following comments from analysts and investors about the Trump administration’s move against Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell:
VISHNU VARATHAN, HEAD OF MACRO RESEARCH, ASIA EX-JAPAN, MIZUHO, SINGAPORE
“The Fed independence question is now well and alive and maybe subject to re-evaluation every few meetings.
“I think I’m still not sure how sustained and adversarial the attack on the Fed might be. There could be a scenario where Trump could still appoint someone with some credibility and allow this person to run the show – so that’s probably why markets aren’t panicking as yet.”
ANDREW LILLEY, CHIEF RATES STRATEGIST AT BARRENJOEY, SYDNEY
“Trump is pulling at the loose threads of central bank independence. I don’t even believe that he expects that Chair Powell will be charged… The only reason that he’s taking these steps is that he knows that he’s not going to take control of the Fed, so he wants to exert as much undue pressure as he can.
“It is not good. Don’t get me wrong, but I think it will amount to nothing. Investors won’t be happy about it, but it shows actually Trump has no other levers to pull. The cash rate will stay what the majority of the FOMC wants them to be.”
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Gold reaches record high as Fed independence comes into focus
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
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Jerome Powell announces the DOJ has subpoenaed the Federal Reserve
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
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Trump says he may keep ExxonMobil out of Venezuela over personal feelings on CEO comments
Associated Press reports:
Read more here.
