1. Moving the market

Stocks opened lower and stayed under pressure for most of the day, even after Nvidia and Salesforce dropped their latest earnings.

The big disappointment was Nvidia—despite beating on both earnings and revenue, shares got pumped early then dumped about 5%, putting it on track for its worst day since April.

Traders basically shrugged off the numbers and took profits. Other chip names followed suit: Broadcom, Lam Research, Western Digital, and Applied Materials all fell more than 6%.

Salesforce bucked the trend a bit, rising 2% after beating on both top and bottom lines, but it wasn’t enough to lift the broader tech sector.

The weakness ties back to ongoing fragility in software and cybersecurity—investors are still nervous about AI tools potentially disrupting incumbent vendors’ businesses. The Mag 7 were a big drag again, but the rest of the S&P 493 held roughly flat.

In the end, only the Dow and small caps managed small green closes—the Nasdaq was the day’s biggest loser.

Bond yields eased (pushing rate-cut expectations higher), the dollar gained overall despite a late sell-off, and the metals were mixed: spot gold chopped between $5,150 and $5,200 but the gold ETF closed green, silver eked out a gain, and Bitcoin followed tech lower before bouncing back to $68k.

Today’s big question: why did Nvidia underperform after such a strong beat? Simple answer—classic “sell the news” profit-taking.

1. Moving the market

Stocks kicked off on a positive note and kept the upward momentum rolling most of the day, led by gains in tech heavyweights.

Nvidia rose about 1% heading into its big earnings report after the bell (alongside Salesforce and Snowflake), as traders recalibrate those sky-high valuations and get a bit skeptical on how much bang they’re getting from hyperscalers’ massive AI capex spending.

Oracle jumped 3% to lead the software bounce after an upgrade from Oppenheimer, who called the risk-reward “favorable” following the recent pullback. That helped lift the broader tech and AI space for a second straight day.

Elsewhere, macro, and geopolitical noise stayed in the background: Trump’s State of the Union last night talked up the economy, proposed government-backed retirement accounts for workers, and repeated his call to ban big institutional investors from buying single-family homes.

The weekend tariff threat (hiking to 15% globally) turned into a 10% duty on Tuesday, but markets mostly shrugged it off.

The rally was broad-ish, with mega-cap tech surging again and financials joining in. An early short squeeze lost steam by afternoon, but the major indexes held on for a green close.

Bond yields rose modestly (rate-cut expectations slipped a touch), the dollar wobbled lower, and precious metals stayed strong: gold rallied back to $2,500 but couldn’t hold it (thanks to CME “technical difficulties“), while silver still topped $91.

Bitcoin was on fire, up over 11% in the last couple of days.

All eyes are now on Nvidia’s earnings after the close—traders are laser-focused on directional commentary and any visibility into 2027.

1. Moving the market

The major indexes opened sharply lower as President Trump ramped up his tariff rhetoric again, responding to the Supreme Court’s strike-down of his “reciprocal” tariffs.

In a Monday post, he warned that any country “playing games” with the ruling—especially those that have “ripped off” the U.S. for years—would face much higher tariffs than previously agreed.

He also said duties would start immediately (though it’s unclear if official documents have been signed) and more levies are coming over the next few months.

That fresh uncertainty triggered a clear risk-off mood, reversing some of last week’s biggest winners. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all took an early hit and stayed under pressure for most of the day, with tech and growth names feeling the pain.

Gold prices surged on the renewed trade and inflation worries—spot gold up about 2%, futures nearly 3%—while silver rallied solidly +5.1%.

Bond yields dropped (10-year to its lowest since Thanksgiving), but that didn’t help equities much. The dollar ended flat, and Bitcoin had no spark, sinking to $65K—its lowest since early February.

Wall Street is now bracing for a busy week: Trump’s State of the Union address tomorrow, Nvidia earnings Wednesday, and Friday’s PPI data that could shift the policy outlook.