Tensions Between Fed and White House Impact Market Sentiment
Escalating tensions between the White House and the Federal Reserve - whereby an investigation of Powell over his testimony about the central bank's building renovation project was met with a stern rebuke by the Fed Chair alleging that political motivations are driving the Executive branch in strong-arming the central bank to ease policy - hit sentiment to start the new week, though U.S. indices recovered midday to finish slightly higher. Walmart'srecord highs helped Consumer Staples to the top of the S&P 500 sectors in today's performance, while Energy and Financials were the worst performers and finished in the red. In the opening hour of the evening trade, index futures are modestly lower - S&P e-minis, Dow Industrials, and Nasdaq 100 are all down by about 0.1%.Macro currents are dominating market narratives, and tomorrow's CPI report will give the Fed more input on the direction of policy to start 2026. In commodities, precious metals saw fresh record highs on Monday, though both Silver and Gold are down somewhat in the evening session, weighed down by renewed bullish momentum for U.S. Dollar. Q4 earnings season also kicks off on Tuesday, with JPMorganand Delta Airlineson tap to report results.Check out this evening's top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.HIGHER -Revvityup 8.8% after Q4 pre-announcementOption Care Healthup 3.3% after FY25 guidanceWayfair (up 1.5% after partnering with Google on AI-powered shoppingKennametal (KMT) up 1.1% after being upgraded at JefferiesNETSTREITup 0.9% after FY26 guidanceLOWER -Saiadown 1.9% after being cut to In Line at Evercore ISIBioMarin Pharmaceuticaldown 0.7% after naming Arpit Dave as Chief Digital and Information Officer
