By Dow Jones Newswires Staff
U.S. futures extended Monday's gains as global markets steadied after days of volatile trading. Sharp selling in precious metals and fears over mounting Middle East tensions caused falls across markets on early Monday, though rebounding gold and silver prices and the promise of U.S.-Iran negotiations eased investor concerns later.
An unexpected jump in U.S. factory activity in January boosted investor confidence in the foundations of the economy, while sentiment was further boosted by the U.S.-India trade deal. Equities rose across the globe, though the dollar slid after rallying in previous sessions on President Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh to chair the Federal Reserve. Market participants are split on whether the former Fed governor will favor more restrictive monetary policy.
--U.S. equity futures looked set to extend Monday's gains in early European trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average nudged up 0.06% premarket, while futures for the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.25% and 0.6%. Mega cap tech stocks continued to diverge, with Apple falling 0.8% as Nvidia rose 0.7%.
--Asian stocks were up at the close as recovering precious metals and the U.S.-India trade deal buoyed sentiment. Equities tracked Wall Street gains overnight. South Korea's Kospi ended 6.8% higher in afternoon trade, powered by gains in chip stocks including Samsung Electronics, which surged 7.3%. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed up 3.9% at record high. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.2%, with tech stock swings making the HS Tech index whipsaw. The index was last 1% lower.
--European indexes climbed at the open as banks and tech stocks gained. The German DAX rallied 1% as Siemens Energy climbed 3.5% and Daimler Truck Holding gained 3%. In Paris, banks and utilities pushed the CAC 40 up 0.6%, with Schneider Electric climbing 2.35% though Publicis dropped 4% after a trading update. The Spanish IBEX 35 was up 0.7% as banks that dominate the index gained, with Santander up 1.5%. Banks also pushed the Italian FTSE MIB up 0.9%, with Banca MPS rising 2%. European tech stocks followed surging Asian chip stocks higher. The Dutch AEX rose 0.5% as ASML climbs 1.7%. In London, the FTSE 100 extended Monday's record close, edging up 0.2%. Gains for metals boost miners--Fresnillo climbed 4.7%--though healthcare stocks dragged amid stalling dollar recovery.
--The dollar turned lower after a recovery in recent days. While Trump's nomination of Warsh briefly interrupted the market's sentiment towards a weaker dollar, the "underlying fundamental conditions have not yet changed," Commerzbank's Michael Pfister said. Meanwhile, U.S. policy uncertainty remains elevated and the Bureau of Labor Statistics said it would delay Friday's nonfarm payrolls report due to the partial government shutdown. The DXY dollar index fell 0.2% to 97.419.
--U.S. Treasury yields edged higher in Asian trade, coping with the fact that January's employment report won't be published as planned on Friday. The U.S. Treasury yield curve, however, maintained its steepening pattern, with the gap between shorter- and longer-dated bonds widening. "Bond markets are slowly coming to grips with Kevin Warsh, steepeners could extend," Commerzbank Research's Christoph Rieger said in a note. The two-year Treasury yield was up 0.4 basis points at 3.573%, the 10-year Treasury yield rose 0.4 bps to 4.280%, while the 30-year Treasury yield increased 0.6 bps to 4.914%, according to Tradeweb data.
Eurozone government bond yields traded slightly higher, moving in the same direction as their U.S. peers in what looked like a quiet start to the day. Germany tapped a green Bund at auction, while Italy syndicated a new 15-year BTP. The 10-year Bund yield rose 1 bp to 2.876%, according to LSEG.
--Bitcoin edged slightly higher but remained below $80,000 after reaching a 10-month low Monday. Continuing selling by crypto "whales," who hold large amounts of the digital assets, continued to weigh on the market along with forced liquidations and fragile sentiment, Trade Nation analyst David Morrison said in a note. Bitcoin rose 0.4% to $78,757 after hitting a low of $74,546, LSEG data showed.
--Oil prices slipped on signs of de-escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran, with officials from both countries set to meet in Turkey this week. Brent crude was down 0.4% to $66 a barrel, while WTI fell 0.3% to $60.84 a barrel. The U.S.-India trade deal could force Russia to tighten supply given a lack of buyers, ING analysts said.
--Gold prices regained ground after two sessions of heavy selling, with futures in New York rising 6.5% to $4,955.90 a troy ounce in early European trading. Silver futures climbed 13.1% to $87.07 an ounce.
Write to Barcelona Editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 03, 2026 04:39 ET (09:39 GMT)
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