Wall Street Starts February Higher and Silver Jumps 11%
Gold surged more than 5%, climbing back above $4,850 an ounce, while silver jumped over 11%, reclaiming levels above $85 an ounce.
Quick overview
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.05% to 49,407.66 points, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also posting gains.
- Investors shifted focus to trade developments after President Trump announced a new agreement with India regarding oil purchases.
- India agreed to reduce its Russian oil imports and increase purchases of U.S. products worth over $500 billion.
- Market sentiment improved as gold and silver prices rebounded sharply after a significant sell-off.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.05% to 49,407.66 points, the S&P 500 gained 0.57% to 6,978.65, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.56% to 23,592.11.
Wall Street’s main indexes closed higher on Monday, February 2, supported by gains in defensive consumer-staples stocks. Investors rebounded from last week’s relentless sell-off in gold and silver and shifted their focus back to trade developments, after President Donald Trump announced a new agreement with India.
In this context, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.05% to 49,407.66 points, the S&P 500 gained 0.57% to 6,978.65, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.56% to 23,592.11.
India moves away from Russian oil
Posting on Truth Social, Trump said he had spoken with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about “many things,” including trade and efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“He agreed to stop buying Russian oil and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, from Venezuela,” Trump said, referring to Modi. India’s purchases of Russian crude had been a major sticking point in trade negotiations with Washington.
Trump also said both leaders agreed on a trade deal under which the U.S. would lower its reciprocal tariff rate on India from 25% to 18%. In exchange, India committed to purchasing more than $500 billion worth of U.S. products.
January jobs report delayed
Media reports on Monday indicated that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics had delayed the release of the January employment report, originally scheduled for Friday, due to the partial government shutdown.
Federal government services were suspended over the weekend after the U.S. Senate passed a temporary funding package covering five appropriations bills on Friday, but the House of Representatives did not return to work until Monday.
The shutdown is not expected to resemble last year’s record-long closure, as lawmakers anticipate that the House will approve the funding package.
Confidence rebounds at the start of February
Market sentiment had been severely hit late last week by a sharp collapse in gold and silver prices. Precious metals were pressured by a stronger dollar and heavy profit-taking following months of strong gains.
However, sentiment improved quickly. At the start of the next trading day, spot gold posted one of its strongest daily gains in decades during Tuesday’s Asian session, while spot silver also staged a sharp rebound. Gold surged more than 5%, climbing back above $4,850 an ounce, while silver jumped over 11%, reclaiming levels above $85 an ounce.
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