Weekly Stock Market Update | Dow, S&P 500, NASDAQ News – February 01, 2026

This week saw the S&P 500 fall for the third time, ending down by 0.43% at 6,939.03. The Dow Jones dropped 179 points, settling at 48,892.47, while the Nasdaq suffered a loss of 0.94%, closing at 23,461.82. Despite the day’s losses, all three indexes managed to end January with gains.

The main point of discussion for the market has been President Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh for the Federal Reserve’s Chairmanship, which has been welcomed by investors due to Warsh’s experienced background and firm stance against inflation. Investors’ approval saw the U.S. dollar rally and Treasury yields hold steady.

Shares in gold and silver, which have experienced a speculative bubble in recent weeks, dropped significantly, around 9% and 28%, respectively. The most significant loss was incurred by the iShares Silver Trust, which plummeted more than 28% in one day.

In terms of specific stocks, tech giant Apple swung between gains and losses despite reporting strong iPhone sales and fiscal Q1 results. KLA Corp suffered a loss of over 15% after forecasting a slowdown in growth. However, telecommunications firm Verizon saw shares surge nearly 12% following a positive full-year earnings outlook.

Next week, the market will shift its focus to earnings reports from key tech companies including Alphabet and Amazon. Data on the labor market will be released, providing valuable insight on the state of the economy. This comes following the Federal Reserve’s statement that economic outlook is improving, impacting the timeline for further interest rate reductions. Kevin Warsh’s nomination as Federal Reserve Chair is also anticipated to influence the markets.

Overall, the market ended January on a positive note, with the S&P 500 and Dow logging gains of 1.4% and 1.7%, respectively, and the Nasdaq up by 1%. The Russell 20009, focused on small caps, jumped over 5% in the month. However, volatility is expected to continue defining the market’s performance in 2026.

The US stock market faced losses, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite falling around 0.7%, primarily due to a plunge in Microsoft shares. Microsoft shares dropped over 10% following an earnings report that spooked investors with significant capital spending and a slowdown in quarterly cloud sales growth. This stood in contrast with Meta’s earnings, which increased by over 10% due to a robust quarterly revenue outlook.

Tesla experienced a 3% loss, with the company shifting its focus from EVs to robots and seeing a decline in its first-ever annual revenue. Escalating US-Iran tensions ratcheting up oil futures to a four-month high and the Federal Reserve’s decision to maintain the current interest rates also influenced the market. Upcoming market events include Apple’s quarterly earnings report and President Trump’s announcement of his choice for the next Fed chair.

Looking ahead, the market’s performance may improve if significant companies report strong earnings, as per CNBC’s Jim Cramer. Major companies like Disney, Pfizer, Pepsi, Merck, Advanced Micro Devices, and Chipotle are set to share their latest earnings details. Western Digital’s upcoming innovation day highlighting data storage support innovations and Eli Lilly’s new trial results for its GLP-1 portfolio could also impact the market. Reports from tech giants Alphabet and Amazon next week will be consequential while Cramer also expects the weak January employment report to lower bond yields and enable stocks to grow.

In terms of specific stocks, for the last week, the S & P 500 advanced 0.34% and made a 1.37% gain for the month. Meta Platforms and Microsoft faced opposing situations post-earnings, with Meta’s stocks increasing almost 9% and Microsoft falling over 8%. Other noteworthy moments include GE Vernova and Corning recording high performances. Starbucks, however, saw a decline of over 6%, while Honeywell reached an all-time high, and Danaher’s positive report failed to uplift shares. Software stocks, including Salesforce and ServiceNow, faced significant drops, while cybersecurity names Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike also saw declines.