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U.S. futures fall, but markets Asia Monday in advance federal reserved chair Jerome Powell explain Ministry of Justice A subpoena has been issued to the central bank.
The threat of criminal prosecution over Powell’s testimony about renovations at the Federal Reserve Building is the latest escalation in President Donald Trump’s feud with the Fed. Trump criticized the Federal Reserve’s $2.5 billion renovation of two office buildings as being too expensive.
The market appeared to be taking the news in stride, despite rising prices for gold and other precious metals, which are often used as hedges in times of uncertainty.
S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.5%. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.8% ahead.
In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.4% to 26,337.92 points, and the Shanghai Composite Index also rose 0.4% to 4,135.31 points.
Tokyo markets were closed for a holiday. However, USD/JPY was higher, climbing to 157.96 yen from 157.90 late Friday.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.4% to 4,652.10 points; Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.4% to 8,752.90 points.
Taiwan stocks rose 1%.
U.S. stocks hit new highs on Friday after a mixed report on the U.S. job market that could delay another Fed rate cut but won’t close the door.
Powell’s term as chairman ends in May, and Trump administration officials have said he may name a potential successor this month. Trump also tried to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
In a brief interview with NBC News on Sunday, Trump insisted he was unaware of the investigation into Powell. Asked whether the investigation was aimed at putting pressure on Powell on interest rates, Trump said: “No. I wouldn’t even think of doing that.”
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 6,966.28, surpassing the all-time high set earlier this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to 49,504.07, also a record high.
The Nasdaq Composite led the market higher, rising 0.8% to close at 23,671.35 points.
The U.S. Labor Department said that although the unemployment rate improved and was better than expected, employers hired fewer workers in December than economists expected. It reinforces that the U.S. job market may be in a “low hiring, low firing” situation and hopefully avoid a recession.
On Wall Street, power company Vistra helped lead the market with a 10.5% surge in shares after it signed a 20-year deal to provide power from its three nuclear power plants to Meta Platforms. Big tech companies have signed a series of such deals to electrify data centers, spurring their push into artificial intelligence technology.
Oklo shares rose 7.9% after the company said it also signed a deal with Meta Platforms that will help it obtain nuclear fuel and advance its project to build a facility in Pike County, Ohio.
Homebuilders and other companies involved in the housing market post strong performance in first trading session since President’s term ends Donald Trump Plans announced to lower mortgage rates. Trump late Thursday called for buying $200 billion in mortgage bonds, similar to how the Federal Reserve has purchased mortgage-backed bonds in the past to lower mortgage rates.
Building products supplier Builders FirstSource gained 12%, joining Vistra as one of the top gainers on the S&P 500. Among homebuilders, Lennar rose 8.9%, DR Horton gained 7.8% and PulteGroup gained 7.3%.
They helped offset GM’s 2.7% decline. The auto giant said it will take a $6 billion hit on its results in the final three months of 2025 as it exits its electric vehicle business. That doesn’t include the $1.6 billion in charges GM took last quarter. Reduced tax incentives and loosening fuel emissions regulations have been eroding demand for electric vehicles.
In other early trade on Monday, the euro climbed to $1.1657 against the dollar from $1.1633 late Friday night.
U.S. benchmark crude oil rose 5 cents to $59.17 a barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, rose 7 cents to $63.41 a barrel.
Gold prices rose 1.9% and silver prices rose 4.8%.