Market Memo

Alright, let’s get into it. The market last week was acting like it had a plan but everyone knew it didn’t. Tuesday after MLK Day kicked things off with a bang when the President proposed a 10 percent tariffs on eight European countries, including France, Germany, and the UK, over the Greenland deal, and investors immediately got jittery. Then the DOJ dropped news of an investigation into Fed Chair Powell, which made everyone suddenly a Fed expert and left the market guessing what interest rates might do next. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq slid early while the Dow tried to play it cool, holding up thanks to industrials and other safe names, but Thursday flipped the script when Trump walked back the tariffs and the indexes bounced back, giving everyone a brief sense of relief. Earnings kept things spicy: Intel cratered 17 percent Friday after warning about supply chain headaches, and banks like JPMorgan Chase and Capital One got nervous over a proposed 10 percent cap on credit card interest rates. Meanwhile, gold and silver were having a field day, with gold heading toward five thousand and silver topping one hundred as everyone rushed into safe-haven bets. By Friday’s close, the Dow was down 0.5 percent, the S&P 500 slipped 0.4 percent, and the Nasdaq lost 0.1 percent, leaving the market cautious, defensive, and all eyes on the Fed and trade headlines. Overall, it wasn’t a total disaster, but it definitely wasn’t smooth, and the week felt like a reminder that the market might look confident, but one policy tweet or Fed rumor can still send everything sideways.