Stock Indexes Fall After Flurry of Bank Earnings, Inflation and Retail Sales Data; Gold, Silver Set Fresh Record Highs

Major stock indexes fell Wednesday as investors digested the latest batch of bank earnings reports and readings on wholesale inflation and retail sales, while safe-haven gold and silver surged to fresh record highs. 

The tech-heavy Nasdaq, benchmark S&P 500, and blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell a respective 1.2%, 0.8%, and 0.4% in early trading.

Before the bell, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ delayed Producer Price Index report for November revealed wholesale prices rose 0.2% from September—the last monthly reading before the U.S. government shutdown—while economists were expecting an 0.3% rise. Meanwhile, U.S. retail sales rose 0.6% in November when a 0.4% increase was predicted.

The 10-year Treasury yield, which influences interest rates on a variety of commercial and consumer loans, recently traded around 4.15%, down from Tuesday’s close above 4.18% and a tick below its level before the data were released.

Major stock indexes closed lower yesterday, with the Dow shedding 400 points, as investors digested a consumer inflation reading that matched expectations and bank earnings season kicked off with a mixed report from JPMorgan Chase (JPM), whose stock declined more than 4%. Shares of the largest U.S. bank were down a further 0.4% in recent trading.

Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC) shares declined 3.5% and 4.5%, respectively, after reporting fiscal 2025 fourth-quarter results early Wednesday, while Citigroup (C) stock was up about 1.5%.

Prices of precious metals surged Wednesday, with gold futures hitting an all-time high of $4,650 an ounce and silver crossing the $90-an-ounce threshold for the first time. Gold was up about 1% to $4,635 an ounce in recent trading, while silver surged 5.5% to $91.20 after setting a record of nearly $92.20.

Financial stocks declined for the second straight day Tuesday after President Donald Trump over the weekend suggested capping credit card interest rates at 10%. Payment processors Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) were among the biggest S&P 500 decliners yesterday, with shares down 4.5% and 3.8%, respectively. Both were little changed Wednesday.

Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) slipped nearly 2% to lead early Dow decliners after the Trump administration approved the exporting of its H200 AI chips to China but said the world’s most valuable public company must meet new security requirements first.

Netflix (NFLX) stock slipped more than 1% following reports that the streaming giant was preparing to make its $72 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) HBO Max streaming service and studios all-cash, instead of a mix of cash and stock. Paramount Skydance (PSKY) has made a hostile all-cash offer of $77.9 billion for all of WBD, whose shares were up less than 1%. Paramount shares edged lower.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, rose less than 1% to $61.65 a barrel.

Bitcoin was trading around $95,800, up from the day’s low of roughly $94,100. Bitcoin-treasury firm Strategy (MSTR) was the top-performing stock in the Nasdaq early Wednesday, with shares up 6%.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, ticked 0.1% lower to 99.00.