U.S. stock futures sink after Powell accuses Trump of intimidation over DOJ probe

By Mike Murphy All three major indexes posted gains last week. U.S. stock futures sank Sunday, after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the Department of Justice had subpoenaed the Federal Reserve on Friday and threatened a criminal indictment against him over cost overruns at the agency's headquarters. In a statement late Sunday, Powell said the accusations that he misled Congress over the cost of the renovations was a pretext for President Donald Trump to pressure the Fed to cut interest rates, and that the investigation threatens the Fed's independence. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM00) were down about 180 points, or 0.4%. S&P 500 futures (ES00) and Nasdaq-100 futures (NQ00) also declined. West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, (CLG26) (CL.1) gave up sharp early gains and were last up 0.1% amid uncertainty around Venezuela's oil industry following Trump's assertion that the U.S. will control the nation's oil after U.S. military action that deposed President Nicolás Maduro last weekend, and unrest in Iran that has seen hundreds of demonstrators reportedly killed, leading the U.S. to consider a military response. Oil prices rose more than 3% last week. The price of bitcoin (BTCUSD) gained slightly over the weekend, and was last trading above $90,700. Precious metals continued to advance Sunday. Gold (GC00), which gained 64% in 2025, is up 3.7% year to date, while silver (SI00), which soared 141% last year, is up more than 12% in 2026. More: Stocks are signaling that another commodities 'supercycle' is afoot in 2026 On Friday, the Dow and S&P 500 closed at record highs following a decent December jobs report, as all three major indexes closed with weekly gains. For the week, the Dow rose 2.3%, the S&P 500 advanced 1.6% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.9%. Earnings season is set to start this week, with quarterly reports expected from big banks such as Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS). Investors will also be looking forward to inflation numbers this week, with the release of the the December consumer-price index report on Tuesday, and retail-sales data and the producer-price index for November on Wednesday. The U.S. Supreme Court's impending ruling on the legality of many of Trump's tariffs is also looming over the market. "The real risk is not whether equities can grind higher from here," Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, wrote in a note late Friday. "It is whether rates or policy eventually spoil the party. Supply returns next week. Tariff uncertainty re-enters the frame. Volatility remains cheap at the front and quietly bid further out. This is the kind of setup that looks boring until it is not." -Mike Murphy This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. (END) Dow Jones Newswires 01-11-26 2021ET