Midday Fly By: Warsh nominated for Fed chair, Apple reports Q1 beat

The major averages were broadly lower near noon as tech stocks continue to decline and as investors continue to analyze earnings, monetary policy news, and macroeconomic data. On the macro side, markets are digesting the implications of the nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chair. Warsh’s nomination has lifted the U.S. dollar and pressured commodities like gold and silver, while traders recalibrate expectations for interest rates and policy continuity. At the same time, the upcoming week’s heavy slate of earnings and labor market data looms as a catalyst for direction in equities.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.

1. STOCK NEWS:

• President Trump has nominated Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair
• Apple (AAPL) reported better-than-expected Q1 results and provided Q2 revenue guidance
• Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) both reported upbeat Q4 results
• Verizon (VZ) reported better-than-expected Q4 results and authorized a $25B share repurchase program
• American Express (AXP) and Visa (V) both reported upbeat quarterly results

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• HSBC downgraded Pinterest (PINS) to Hold on softer near-term outlook
• SanDisk (SNDK) upgraded to Outperform at Raymond James
• Codere Online (CDRO) downgraded to Hold at Stifel
• Spotify (SPOT) upgraded to Buy at Citi
• Southwest (LUV) upgraded to Outperform at BMO Capital

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Alibaba (BABA) and ByteDance both plan to release flagship AI models around China’s mid-February Lunar New Year holiday, including ByteDance’s Doubao 2.0, The Information says
• According to new NHTSA crash data and Tesla’s (TSLA) new disclosure of Robotaxi mileage, Tesla’s driverless vehicles are crashing at a much higher rate than human drivers, even with a safety monitor in every vehicle, Electrek reports
• GameStop (GME) shares have dropped 80% since becoming a meme stock in 2021, but GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen plans to turn the $11B company into a $100B juggernaut, WSJ says
• Nvidia (NVDA) assisted China’s DeepSeek with refining its AI models that were later used in the Chinese military, Reuters reports
• Structure Therapeutics (GPCR), which his working on next-gen oral obesity medication, has emerged as the next top M&A target for Big Pharma, Axios says

4. MOVERS:

• Robert Half (RHI) gains after reported Q4 results and provided guidance for Q1
• Deckers Outdoor (DECK) increases after reporting Q3 results and raising its guidance for FY26
• Critical Metals (CRML) lower in New York after appointing a delivery team to fast track the development of its Tanbreez project
• Lexicon (LXRX) falls after announcing a 32M share offering
• PennyMac Financial (PFSI) lower after reporting Q4 results

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE

• SoFi Technologies (SOFI) reported Q4 results and provided guidance for Q1 and FY26
• GCL Global (GCL) reported 1H of 2026 results and cut its guidance for FY26
• Church & Dwight (CHD) reported Q4 results, with CEO Rick Dierker commenting, “we are pleased to deliver another year of industry-leading results”
• Colgate-Palmolive (CL) reported Q4 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus
• Aon plc (AON) reported Q4 results, with CEO Greg Case commenting, “Our fourth-quarter and full-year results reflect the strong execution of our 3×3 Plan, accelerating our client-centric Aon United strategy”

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 0.84%, or 414.43, to 48,657.13, the Nasdaq was down 0.64%, or 151.85, to 23,533.28, and the S&P 500 was down 0.51%, or 35.80, to 6,933.21.