US open: Stocks lower following Trump's Fed chair announcement, hotter-than-expected PPI report

(Sharecast News) - Major indices were in the red early on Friday after Donald Trump announced his nominee for the next head of the Federal Reserve and December's PPI report showed wholesale inflation rising sharply at end of 2025.

As of 1515 GMT,the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.43% at 48,860.36, while the S&P 500 shed 0.33% to 6,946.02 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.34% weaker at 23,603.47.

The Dow opened 211.20 points lower on Friday, erasing gains recorded in the previous session.

Friday's primary focus was news that Donald Trump had tapped former Fed governor Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as the next chair of the Federal Reserve. Warsh served as Fed governor between 2006 and 2011.

"I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best," said Trump.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said Warsh was a renowned hawk when he was a Fed governor. However, she noted that he has recently aligned himself with Donald Trump in calling for lower interest rates.

Brooks added: "This is an interesting pick from the president and may give the market some hope that Fed independence will be preserved by elevating a former Fed insider."

Gold futures slid more than 4%, while silver tumbled 12%, suggesting markets were generally at ease with Warsh's nomination. Even so, both metals remain sharply higher over the past year, with gold up 80% and silver surging 209%.

In the corporate space, Apple saw a surge in demand for iPhones over Christmas, helping to push quarterly revenues at the US tech giant up to a record $144bn. Posting first-quarter numbers after the bell on Thursday, Apple said total net sales in the three months to 27 December surged 16% to $143.8bn, well ahead of expectations.

Chevron posted fourth-quarter earnings that topped analyst expectations thanks to record oil production, while Exxon beat estimates as lower-cost output from Guyana and the Permian helped offset weaker oil prices.

American Express pointed to FY profits largely above Wall Street expectations, underscoring resilient spending by its affluent customer base amid broader economic uncertainty, and Colgate-Palmolive delivered Q4 earnings and revenues that exceeded analyst expectations, despite taking a hit from an impairment charge related to its skin health unit.

Elsewhere, the Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon was allegedly in talks to invest up to $50bn in OpenAI, while Reuters revealed that Elon Musk was said to be considering merging SpaceX with either Tesla Motors or xAI as he looks to consolidate his sprawling tech empire.

On the macro front, producer prices rose more than expected in December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with headline PPI for final demand up 0.5% monthonmonth. December's increase followed upticks of 0.2% in November and 0.1% in October. On an unadjusted basis, final demand prices increased 3.0% over 2025, easing from 3.5% in 2024. Core PPI, which strips out volatile food, energy and trade services costs, climbed 0.4% in December - marking an eighth straight monthly increase. On an annualised basis, core prices were up 3.5%, compared to a 3.6% rise in 2024.

Treasury yields ticked higher following the hotter-than-expected wholesale inflation data, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note up 0.014% at 4.254, adding to bearish sentiment across the market.

On another note, the Chicago Business Barometer jumped to 54 in January, according to the Institute for Supply Management, up from 42.7 in December and comfortably beating expectations for 44. January's reading also signalled a return to growth after 25 straight months of contraction.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $42.52 6.81%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $677.04 1.77%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $173.28 1.22%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $27.44 1.03%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $112.48 0.81%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.99 0.67%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $109.04 0.65%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $945.13 0.53%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $435.44 0.45%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $73.71 0.38%

Dow Jones - Fallers

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $300.53 -2.82%

American Express Co. (AXP) $348.99 -2.65%

Visa Inc. (V) $325.23 -1.98%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $61.54 -1.69%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $254.19 -1.58%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $312.57 -0.93%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $289.87 -0.83%

3M Co. (MMM) $155.10 -0.82%

Boeing Co. (BA) $232.20 -0.79%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $340.74 -0.64%

S&P 500 - Risers

Robert Half Inc. (RHI) $31.72 17.09%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $205.00 7.04%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $42.52 6.81%

Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (APD) $271.45 6.03%

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL) $89.26 4.72%

Stryker Corp. (SYK) $368.40 3.98%

Church Dwight Co Inc. (CHD) $95.44 3.78%

Gallagher Arthur J (AJG) $254.55 3.54%

Eastman Chemical Co. (EMN) $71.38 3.46%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $450.67 3.42%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Dxc Technology Company (DXC) $13.05 -9.41%

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $1,532.60 -9.03%

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $169.19 -6.37%

Newmont Corporation (NEM) $119.04 -6.22%

Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $61.38 -5.75%

Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $327.10 -5.46%

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $21.79 -4.93%

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) $47.97 -3.95%

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $243.12 -3.59%

Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $51.43 -3.51%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $205.00 7.04%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $450.67 3.42%

T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $195.35 3.21%

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $425.11 2.05%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $336.95 1.88%

Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $11.18 0.90%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $249.88 0.69%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.99 0.67%

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $293.58 0.66%

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $20.19 0.65%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $1,532.60 -9.03%

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $294.86 -2.58%

eBay Inc. (EBAY) $92.18 -2.36%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $200.72 -2.19%

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $234.19 -2.12%

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $214.60 -2.00%

Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $2,174.46 -1.97%

Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $55.89 -1.93%

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $724.63 -1.85%

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $935.60 -1.81%