[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the market

The S&P 500 finally touched 7,000 for the first time intraday—nice milestone! —but the broader rally ran out of steam by the close.

Chip stocks gave us an early boost after some upbeat earnings: Seagate soared more than 17% on strong AI data storage demand, and ASML reported record orders with solid 2026 guidance. That juiced the sector for a while, but the gains mostly faded by the end.

Traders were also watching the dollar after its big drop Tuesday (worst day since last April), though it clawed back a bit today.

The macro picture still looks decent—growth holding up, labor market soft but stable, inflation above the Fed’s target—so there wasn’t much case for an immediate rate cut.

The Fed held steady as expected, and Chair Powell’s comments didn’t drop any big surprises, so markets basically shrugged.

In the end, the major indexes closed near flat, with only the Nasdaq squeaking out a tiny gain. Bond yields were all over the place, rate-cut expectations dipped, but the dollar showed some life.

The real action?

Precious metals crushed it again—gold ETF and silver ETF both surged over 3.8%, gold topped $5,300, and silver chopped around but closed near $115. Bitcoin followed suit and climbed back above $90K.

After the Fed passed on a cut and stocks faded but metals keep holding strong, does this feel like a classic “no news is bad news” reaction… or a healthy reminder that hard assets are still doing the heavy lifting in this environment?

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the market

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq jumped early, powered by solid gains in Big Tech, as traders positioned for a packed week of earnings reports and the Fed’s first policy meeting on Wednesday. The Dow, however, stumbled out of the gate and stayed under pressure.

Big Tech names led the charge: Apple climbed nearly 2%, Microsoft added 1.3%, and the whole sector got a boost from anticipation around upcoming results. More than 90 S&P 500 companies report this week, including Meta, Microsoft, and Tesla on Wednesday, and Apple on Thursday.

Health insurers were the big laggards—Humana tanked 18% and CVS Health dropped 10% after CMS proposed only a tiny 0.09% average net increase in Medicare Advantage payments for 2027. That was a gut punch for the sector.

The Fed meeting is the main event ahead—markets are widely expecting rates to stay steady in the 3.5%–3.75% range, but everyone’s hunting for clues on future cuts. Futures still price in about two quarter-point reductions by year-end 2026.

Late in the day, President Trump dropped some off-the-cuff remarks saying the dollar was “doing great” and he didn’t think it had weakened too much. That added a little extra pressure on the currency, helping precious metals push higher.

The S&P 500 tagged a new record high intraday but couldn’t quite break through 7,000 and faded into the close.

Bond yields were mixed, the dollar softened, but gold kept charging—making several runs at$5,100 before finally clearing it for a new high.

Silver was choppier but clawed back to recapture the $110 level late. Bitcoin did its usual dance, ending near $89K after testing higher.

Once again, the precious metals surge turned what could’ve been an average day into a really strong one for our portfolios.

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the market

The major indexes opened strong and kept the upward momentum rolling all session long, even as traders kept one eye on political headlines and braced for a busy week ahead (big earnings wave + the next Fed meeting).

Over the weekend, President Trump threatened a 100% tariff on Canadian goods if Ottawa strikes a trade deal with China. Canadian PM Mark Carney quickly shot back that they have “no intention” of pursuing one with Beijing.

The situation’s fluid, but most folks aren’t losing sleep over it actually happening—still, the constant tariff saber-rattling is slowly wearing on sentiment.

Washington chatter added to the noise too: growing outrage over federal immigration agents fatally shooting a U.S. citizen in Minnesota (second time this month) has people whispering about another potential government shutdown.

Wall Street’s main focus this week is earnings season kicking into high gear—more than 90 S&P 500 companies report, including Meta and Microsoft on Wednesday and Apple on Thursday. So far, the season’s been solid, with 76% beating expectations.

By the close, bond yields pulled back, the dollar broke down to its lowest since March 2022, and equities stayed in rally mode—except small caps, which lagged.

The Mag 7 found their groove again and outperformed the rest of the S&P 493 for the second day running.

Bitcoin bounced nicely today after some weekend selling, clawing back toward recent levels.

The real fireworks?

Precious metals once again. Silver exploded as high as $117 (+12% intraday) before pulling back to $107, while gold blasted past $5,000 and closed above it (up ~1.4% after the fade), giving our portfolios a nice boost.

Silver’s +65% month-to-date run to fresh records stands in stark contrast to heavy ETF and speculator selling—Bloomberg’s question is spot-on: who’s actually buying this latest leg higher, and how sustainable is it?