Daily Stock Market Report (Mon 2nd February 2026) - Agenda
Good morning!
As things have been rather volatile in recent trading sessions, here are some interesting overnight figures as markets reopen after the weekend:
FTSE futures down 0.7% (it's still over 10,100)Samp;P futures down 1.1%Gold down 7% at $4,575 (the high was $5,600 last Thursday)Silver down 13% at $74 (the high was nearly $122 last Thursday)Oil down 5%, with Brent Crude at $65.70Bitcoin stable at $76,400
The only concrete reason for the gold sell-off that I'm aware of is Trump's announcement of Kevin Warsh as the new Fed Chair (as I discussed in Friday's Week Ahead article).
While Mr Warsh was considered the front-runner for the job, the alternative candidates were considered more "dovish".
Warsh has spoken out many times on the need to reduce the size of the Fed's balance sheet (which is inherently deflationary and negative for commodity prices, as when the Fed sells assets, it reduces the supply of dollars).
It remains to be seen if Warsh will be able to act on his prior beliefs when he takes over at the Fed in May. But the commodity sell-off that his appointment triggered has seen a more "risk-off" attitude take hold across various financial markets.
Gold, in particular, had been rising exponentially in January. It has...