Stock Indexes Gain to Begin Big Tech Earnings, Fed Decision Week; Gold Tops $5,000 for First Time

Thousands of Flights Canceled as Winter Storm Grips US

FROM 3 minutes ago

Far fewer planes in the U.S. heard “cleared for takeoff” this weekend.

The winter storm that battered much of the U.S. with snow and ice this weekend has had a severe impact on air travel, with over 20,000 flights canceled Saturday through Monday morning, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.1

Further travel disruptions are expected this week, with another 4,300 flights already canceled for Monday with over 10,400 delayed. Flights departing from or set to arrive at airports in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., were hit particularly hard as the cities faced heavy snow on Sunday. Cancellations ranged from more than half to nearly all of the flights leaving from airports across the cities.

Major airports such as John F. Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International are currently experiencing close to 50% cancellation rates, per FlightAware, with cancellation rates at Boston Logan Airport hovering around 60% early Monday.

Read the full article here.

–Aaron McDade

Gold Surges Above $5,000 Per Ounce for First Time

FROM 50 minutes ago

Gold finally hit the milestone traders have been waiting for.

The spot price of the precious metal over the weekend topped $5,000 per troy ounce for the first time, and reached as high as $5,115 Monday morning. The moves came as U.S. stocks ticked higher to start the week.

The seeming resolution, or at least a path toward one, of affairs involving the U.S., Greenland and mainland Europe appeared last week to have marked a cooling of geopolitical fears, though some analysts have said a broader issue—a possible realignment of the relationship between the U.S. and many of its allies and trading partners—remains in play. Fresh concerns about the possibility of another U.S. government shutdown are also factoring into investor sentiment this morning.

That’s contributed to demand for gold, long seen as a hedge against many types of uncertainty. Analysts and investors were targeting higher prices for gold, already up substantially this year, before $5,000 even hit. Some were even looking toward $6,000. (Gold first touched $4,000 in early October.)

Read the full article here.

–David Marino-Nachison

The Fed Is Unlikely to Make Moves Next Week, But There Could Still Be Drama

FROM 1 hr 29 min ago

The Federal Reserve is all but certain to keep its key interest rate steady at its next meeting on Wednesday, leaving a few open questions, including how far Chair Jerome Powell will go to defend the central bank’s independence from the White House.

Financial markets widely expect the Federal Open Market Committee to put a lid on its recent string of rate cuts and hold the fed funds rate steady at a range of 3.5% to 3.75%. Traders on Friday were pricing in a 97% chance Fed will leave rates unchanged, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, which forecasts rate movements based on fed funds futures trading data.

After cutting the rate by a quarter point for a third time in a row in December, Most officials have shown little appetite for further reducing the key rate, which influences borrowing costs on all kinds of loans.

Fed officials are expected to keep rates flat for at least a few months to see how the economy responds to the rate cuts so far, as the Fed pursues its dual mandate from Congress to keep inflation at 2% and employment high.

Read the full article here.

–Diccon Hyatt

Revolution Medicines Stock Tanks on Report Merck No Longer Discussing Acquiring Biotech

FROM 2 hr 6 min ago

According to a report, pharmaceutical giant Merck (MRK) no longer is interested in potentially buying Revolution Medicines (RVMD). Shareholders of the latter firm are selling the stock in premarket trading Monday.

Revolution Medicines stock was down roughly 20% an hour before the opening bell after The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that Merck was no longer in discussions to acquire the cancer-drug biotech in a deal that could have valued Revolution Medicines at roughly $30 billion.

According to some of the people, the companies couldn’t come to an agreement on a price, the Journal said.

Shares of Revolution Medicines had soared more than 185% over the past year entering Monday.

Bill Gates Issues Warning on AI Investment Hype, Urges Caution

FROM 2 hr 42 min ago

Bill Gates has warned AI investors that not everyone will be a winner in what he calls a “hypercompetitive” market.

The Microsoft (MSFT) cofounder cautioned in December that “a reasonable percentage” of today’s pricey AI stocks can’t justify their valuations. “Not all of these valuations will end up going up. Some of them will go down,” Gates told CNBC.

Gates’ concerns came as the so-called hyperscalers—Microsoft, Alphabet (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META), and Oracle (ORCL)—spent $400 billion on infrastructure in 2025 and are set to spend a third more in 2026.

Some investors worry the sheer size of those figures has encouraged speculation on Wall Street, causing some AI stocks to trade at eye-watering valuations.

Read the full article here.

–Colin Laidley

USA Rare Earth Stock Soars on Commerce Department Stake

FROM 3 hr 14 min ago

The U.S. government is taking an equity stake in USA Rare Earth (USAR). Investors are pleased with the development.

USA Rare Earth shares surged 21% in premarket trading after the Stillwater, Okla.-based company signed a non-binding letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce to receive $1.6 billion in federal funding in exchange for issuing the agency 16.1 million shares of stock and about 17.6 million warrants.

In addition, USA Rare Earth raised $1.5 billion in private sector investment via a PIPE transaction “anchored by Inflection Point with participation from large mutual fund complexes,” it said.

“The LOI with the U.S. Government reflects the strategic importance of USAR’s mine-to-magnet platform and its role in closing the rare earth element and critical mineral supply gap for essential industries that underpin U.S. national security, including semiconductors, other critical technologies, and advanced manufacturing,” the company said.

The news confirmed media reports over the weekend that the Trump administration planned to invest $1.6 billion into the company in exchange for a 10% stake, which caused USA Rare Earth’s shares to soar more than 35% earlier Monday.

USA Rare Earth shares entered Monday having more than doubled thus far in 2026 to $24.77 apiece.

Stock Futures Point Lower on Geopolitical Developments Ahead of Big Tech Earnings Week, Fed Decision

FROM 4 hr 2 min ago

Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average pointed fractionally lower.

S&P 500 futures were 0.2% lower.

Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.4%.