Stock Indexes Decline Following Bank Earnings, Inflation, and Retail Sales Reports; Gold and Silver Reach New Record Highs

Market Update: Stocks Drop, Gold and Silver Surge

Major stock indexes took a hit on Wednesday, while gold and silver prices climbed to record levels as investors processed recent bank earnings and the latest information on wholesale inflation and retail sales.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq, along with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, experienced declines of 1.2%, 0.8%, and 0.4% respectively during early trading.

A report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, released just before the market opened, showed that wholesale prices increased by 0.2% from September. This increase was slightly below the anticipated 0.3%. In a related note, U.S. retail sales for November were expected to rise by 0.4%, but they actually jumped by 0.6%.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which impacts interest rates for various loans, hovered around 4.15%, a decrease from Tuesday’s closing rate of over 4.18% and a touch below its pre-data level.

In the previous day’s trading, major stock indexes finished lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping by 400 points. The start of bank earnings season saw JPMorgan Chase & Co. reporting mixed results. Its stock fell more than 4% as investors absorbed consumer inflation figures that matched expectations, and continued to decline by another 0.4% in later trading.

Shares of Bank of America and Wells Fargo fell by 3.5% and 4.5%, respectively, while Citigroup saw a rise of about 1.5% after announcing its fiscal 2025 fourth-quarter results early on Wednesday.

In sharp contrast, precious metals surged, with gold futures hitting a record $4,650 an ounce and silver crossing the $90 mark for the first time. Gold saw a roughly 1% increase to $4,635 an ounce, while silver climbed 5.5% to $91.20, following a record near $92.20.

Financial stocks faced a second consecutive day of declines on Tuesday after President Trump’s remarks about raising the cap on credit card interest rates to 10%. Payment processors such as Visa and Mastercard were among the biggest losers in the S&P 500, with their shares falling 4.5% and 3.8%. On Wednesday, however, both stocks remained relatively steady.

Nvidia’s stock dropped almost 2%, leading the Dow’s downward trend following the Trump administration’s approval for the export of its H200 AI chip to China, subject to new security requirements.

Netflix shares declined over 1% amid reports that the streaming service is gearing up for a $72 billion cash bid for Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO Max and studios. This casual but significant move comes as Paramount Skydance recently made a hostile all-cash offer of $77.9 billion for its WBD shares, resulting in a minor gain for WBD’s stock price, while Paramount’s shares slipped slightly.

In the energy sector, West Texas Intermediate futures rose by less than 1% to $61.65 per barrel.

Bitcoin experienced a surge, trading close to $95,800 after dropping to about $94,100 earlier in the day. Meanwhile, Bitcoin treasury company Strategy gained the title of the best-performing stock on the Nasdaq early Wednesday, with a rise of 6%.