Financial Markets                      01/26 15:32

   

   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.

   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%.

   ___

   AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.

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