Stocks Shrug Off Tariff Tensions as Gold Rallies: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Stocks kicked off the week with gains, rebounding after a slide driven by concerns over inflation and US tariff threats. The dollar strengthened and gold hit a record high.

While big tech contributed the most to the market advance on Monday, materials producers were the highlight amid President Donald Trump’s plans to impose 25% tariffs on all US imports of steel and aluminum. United States Steel Corp. and Alcoa Corp. rose more than 3.3%. McDonald’s Corp. climbed as sales rose in the fourth quarter after growth in the chain’s international business made up for a decline in the US.

Trump said Sunday the steel and aluminum tariffs would apply to shipments from all countries, including major suppliers Mexico and Canada. He didn’t specify when the duties would take effect. The president also said he would announce reciprocal tariffs this week on countries that tax US imports. Aside from the global trade picture, investors will also be focused on this week’s key inflation data and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony before Congress.

“Inflation data, Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony, and tariffs are poised to drive the market story,” said Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley. “If the S&P 500 is going to break out of its two-month consolidation, it may need a respite from the types of negative surprises—like DeepSeek, tariffs, and consumer sentiment—that have tripped it up over the past few weeks.”

Hedge funds emerged as big buyers of US stocks last week, shifting away from a previously bearish stance in the wake of stronger-than-expected earnings reports. They snapped up US equities at the fastest pace since November, resulting in the heaviest net buying of single stocks in more than three years, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s prime brokerage report for the week ended on Feb. 7. The activity was heaviest in the information technology sector.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3%. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%. The Bloomberg Magnificent Seven Total Return Index advanced 0.4%. The Russell 2000 Index gained 0.2%.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.47%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%. Spot gold rose 1.6% to $2,905.53 an ounce.

Corporate Highlights:

• Toronto-Dominion Bank expects to raise about $14 billion through the sale of its entire stake in Charles Schwab Corp. as part of a corporate overhaul in the wake of its historic US money-laundering settlement.
• McDonald’s Corp. sales rose in the fourth quarter after growth in the chain’s international business made up for a decline in the US.
• Hyatt Hotels Corp. struck a deal to purchase Playa Hotels & Resorts NV for about $2.6 billion, expanding its reach into the all-inclusive resort market in countries including Mexico and Jamaica.
• BP Plc shares surged after Elliott Investment Management built a stake in the company, seeking to end years of under-performance by pushing for significant change.
• The notion that China’s DeepSeek spent under $6 million to develop its artificial intelligence system is “exaggerated and a little bit misleading,” according Google DeepMind boss Demis Hassabis.

Key events this week:

• Fed Chair Jerome Powell gives semiannual testimony to Senate Banking Committee, Tuesday
• Fed’s Beth Hammack, John Williams, Michelle Bowman speak, Tuesday
• US CPI, Wednesday
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies to House Financial Services panel, Wednesday
• Fed’s Raphael Bostic and Christopher Waller speak, Wednesday
• Eurozone industrial production, Thursday
• US initial jobless claims, PPI, Thursday
• Eurozone GDP, Friday
• US retail sales, industrial production, business inventories, Friday
• Fed’s Lorie Logan speaks, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 rose 0.3% as of 9:40 a.m. New York time
• The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.8%
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%
• The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.5%
• The MSCI World Index rose 0.3%
• Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 0.4%
• The Russell 2000 Index rose 0.2%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
• The euro fell 0.2% to $1.0308
• The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.2376
• The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 151.65 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin rose 2.3% to $97,387.82
• Ether rose 3.6% to $2,646.2

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.47%
• Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.36%
• Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 4.44%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.4% to $71.99 a barrel
• Spot gold rose 1.6% to $2,905.53 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from John Viljoen, Catherine Bosley and Matthew Burgess.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.