Wall Street found its footing Monday after getting roughed up on Friday, though not everything participated in the recovery. Small-cap stocks staged an impressive comeback while precious metals continued what can only be described as an absolutely brutal selloff.

By midday in New York, the Russell 2000 was the clear winner among major indexes, climbing 1.4% after dropping 1.6% on Friday. The Nasdaq 100 jumped 1.1%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.7%. Small caps getting their moment in the sun is always interesting, especially after the kind of week that made everyone question their investment thesis.

Fed Chair Nomination Shifts the Conversation

Markets spent the session digesting President Donald Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair. The move is being interpreted as a signal toward a more hawkish approach to managing the central bank's balance sheet, which has implications for pretty much everything from interest rates to asset valuations.

Meanwhile, precious metals investors had another day they'd probably like to forget. Gold extended Friday's rout, sliding more than 4% from Friday's close to $4,670 per ounce. Silver got hit even harder, plunging 8% to $77.88. To put this in perspective, on Friday alone, gold had dropped 9% while silver absolutely collapsed 26%. That's the kind of price action that makes you double-check your screens.

Economic Data Surprises to the Upside

Adding some fuel to the stock market's upbeat tone, the ISM Manufacturing PMI unexpectedly surged to three-year highs. That's a genuine surprise and suggests renewed momentum in factory activity, which had been looking pretty tired lately.

In less helpful news, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that January's jobs report won't be released this Friday as scheduled. The culprit? The partial government shutdown in Washington, which continues to create awkward gaps in the economic data calendar that traders rely on.

Earnings Season Delivers Mixed Messages

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) fell 6% despite reporting better-than-expected quarterly results. Sometimes beating expectations isn't enough, and Disney shareholders got a reminder of that Monday. IDEXX Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) also slid 6% after issuing cautious guidance that spooked investors.

Energy markets had a rough day across the board. Natural gas prices absolutely cratered, plunging 25% on milder weather forecasts. When you're betting on cold weather and it doesn't materialize, the pain comes fast. Crude oil dropped more than 5% as the U.S. administration prepared to meet Iranian officials in Istanbul on Friday for nuclear deal talks. Geopolitical developments tend to move oil prices quickly, and this was no exception.

Crypto Catches a Bid After Overnight Panic

In digital assets, Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded 2.6% to $78,900 after touching $74,500 overnight—its lowest level since April 9, 2025. That overnight drop likely had some people sweating, but the bounce back shows there's still buying interest at lower levels.

Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) is scheduled to report quarterly results after the close, which should give traders something to obsess over heading into Tuesday.

Monday's Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

Looking at the major ETFs, the story was consistent with the broader index moves. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF moved 0.63% higher to $640.20. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.93% to $493.58. The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 gained 0.92% to $627.60, while the iShares Russell 2000 ETF climbed 1.32% to $263.09.

Sector performance showed some clear winners and losers. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund outperformed, up 1.4%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund lagged badly, down 1.3%. Energy's weakness makes sense given what happened in natural gas and crude oil.

Russell 1000's Top 5 Gainers On Monday

Russell 1000's Top 5 Losers On Monday