US stocks rise as gold hits another record and the dollar's value sinks
again
[January 27, 2026] By
STAN CHOE
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes ticked higher Monday, while other
markets made louder moves, including another record-breaking rush for
the price of gold.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5% and won back its losses from last week’s dip. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 313 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq
composite added 0.4%.
Baker Hughes helped lead the way and rose 4.4% after delivering a
stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The
energy technology company said it’s benefiting from strong momentum in
demand for liquefied natural gas, among other things.
CoreWeave climbed 5.7% after Nvidia said it invested $2 billion in the
stock and will help accelerate the buildout of CoreWeave’s
artificial-intelligence factories, which use Nvidia chips, by 2030 to
advance AI adoption. Nvidia slipped 0.6%.
USA Rare Earth rallied 7.9% after saying the U.S. government agreed to
provide $277 million in federal funding to help the company produce
heavy rare earths, minerals and magnets. The Trump administration also
agreed to a proposed $1.3 billion loan, while the company separately
raised $1.5 billion through private investors.
Much of the rest of Wall Street was relatively quiet. That included
mixed performances for airlines, which had to cancel thousands of
flights due to the winter storm that swept much of the United States
over the weekend. Delta Air Lines lost 0.7%, and Southwest Airlines
added 0.2%.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 34.62 points to 6,950.23. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average added 313.69 to 49,412.40, and the Nasdaq composite
gained 100.11 to 23,601.36.
The action was stronger in the gold market, where the metal’s price
rallied another 2.1% and briefly topped $5,100 per ounce for the first
time to set another record. Silver surged even more and settled 14%
higher.
Prices for precious metals have been soaring as investors look for safer
places to park their money amid threats of tariffs, still-high
inflation, political strife and mountains of debt for governments
worldwide.
The latest worry to pile atop the swelling list was President Donald
Trump’s threat to impose a 100% tariff on goods from Canada if it signs
a free trade deal with China.
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Trader Michael Capolino, left, and Specialist Thomas McArdle work on
the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP
Photo/Richard Drew)
 The U.S. dollar’s value also
continued its recent slide against peers. Last week, it was U.S.
tariff threats related to Greenland that drove some global investors
away from the dollar. This time, it was the Japanese yen leaping
sharply because of expectations that officials in both Japan and the
United States may intervene in the market to prop up the Japanese
currency’s value.
More swings could be ahead for financial markets in a week full of
big tests.
The Federal Reserve will announce its latest move on interest rates
on Wednesday. It’s been lowering its main interest rate and has
indicated more cuts may be on the way in 2026 to help shore up the
job market and give the economy a boost.
Most economists expect it to hold steady on Wednesday, in part
because inflation remains stubbornly above the Fed’s 2% target and
lower rates could worsen it. Whatever the Fed decides, comments from
its chair, Jerome Powell, following the decision could sway stock
and bond markets.
Several of Wall Street’s most influential stocks are also set to
deliver their latest earnings reports this week. That includes Meta
Platforms, Microsoft and Tesla on Wednesday and Apple on Thursday.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.21%
from 4.24% late Friday.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed amid mostly modest
movements in Europe following some sharper swings in Asia. Japan’s
Nikkei 225 dropped 1.8% for one of the world’s bigger moves. A
stronger yen could hurt Japanese exporters, and Toyota Motor fell
4.1%.
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AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.
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