2026.01.1221:02:11UTC+00S&P Hits Fresh Record Amid Powell Probe

On Monday, U.S. stocks made a comeback following an initial decline, with the S&P 500 achieving a new record with a 0.2% increase, and the Nasdaq climbing 0.3%, primarily driven by gains in technology stocks and Walmart. The Dow Jones also rebounded, climbing by 86 points after experiencing a substantial drop of nearly 500 points at its lowest during the session. Initially, investors were concerned about the Department of Justice initiating a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, an action which Powell described as a “pretext” by President Trump to exert pressure on the Federal Reserve to reduce interest rates. The banking sector faced significant impacts, with Capital One losing 7% and Citigroup dropping 3%, as the market absorbed President Trump’s proposal to limit credit card interest rates to 10% for a year. Despite these challenges, optimism prevailed regarding forthcoming fourth-quarter earnings, particularly from leading banks, and expectations for a relatively mild Consumer Price Index (CPI) report sustained a positive sentiment across the broader market.