US stock indices edged lower on Friday after President Donald Trump nominated former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to head the central bank.
The move comes as President Trump continues his long-standing campaign for lower interest rates.
Warsh, the President’s pick to succeed Jerome Powell, has previously been critical of the current Chair’s leadership.
At 09:30 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 146.89 points, or 0.32%, to 48,912.80, the S&P 500 lost 23.24 points, or 0.33%, to 6,945.77 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 107.88 points, or 0.43%, to 23,577.24.
On the economic data front, producer prices rose more than expected in December 2025, indicating inflation could pick up in the months ahead.
The US dollar experienced a brief period of volatility following the announcement, initially weakening against a basket of global currencies before recovering its position.
Key Stock Movers
Apple stock fell 1.5% despite the iPhone maker reported a stronger profit for the December quarter than analysts expected.
Microsoft shares dipped 0.1% following a selloff on Thursday after the tech giant’s cloud revenue dropped.
SanDisk stock jumped almost 20% after the firm forecast better-than-expected third quarter profit on higher AI storage demand.
Verizon shares advanced 7% after the wireless carrier predicted upbeat annual profit.
Credit card leader American Express stock slipped 2.5% even though the firm forecast annual profit above Wall Street expectations.
KLA Corp shares dropped 7.7% despite the firm beat Wall Street estimates for second quarter profit and revenue.
Chevron shares added 1% after the oil company reported fourth quarter profit above expectations, while Exxon Mobil shares fell 1% despite beating Wall Street estimates.
Bullion Market
Gold prices tumbled as much as 8% on Friday on profit-taking and as the US dollar appreciated following President Trump’s announcement of his choice for Fed chair.
At 09:37 a.m. ET (1437 GMT), spot gold dropped 5.8% to $5,081.52 per ounce, after slipping to an intraday low of $4,957.53 earlier in the session. US gold futures for February delivery fell 4.1% to $5,079.60.
Among other metals, spot silver shed 13.9% at $99.94 an ounce, spot platinum lost 12.1% to $2,310.11 an ounce, and palladium plunged 8.3% to $1,839.01.
Crude Oil
Oil prices held steady on Friday as the global market stayed on edge following President Donald Trump’s renewed warnings toward Iran.
Brent traded near $70 a barrel on Friday after it surpassed that psychological threshold in the previous session for the first time since July, while West Texas Intermediate held close to $65.