US Stocks Climb; Gold, Silver Fall     02/02 15:20

   U.S. stocks rose on Monday following sharp swings that shook financial 
markets overnight, including tumbles for Asian stocks. Gold and silver prices 
sank further following their latest wild moves.

   NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks rose on Monday following sharp swings that 
shook financial markets overnight, including tumbles for Asian stocks. Gold and 
silver prices sank further following their latest wild moves.

   On Wall Street, the S&P 500 added 0.5% and snapped a three-day losing 
streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 515 points, or 1.1%, and the 
Nasdaq composite gained 0.6%.

   Stocks of companies that make computer storage helped lead the market, 
adding to gains from last week following several profit reports that topped 
analysts' expectations. Airlines and cruise-ship operators were also strong, 
benefiting from a sharp easing of oil prices.

   The center of action in financial markets was again precious metals, where 
momentum has suddenly halted after gold's price roughly doubled in just 12 
months.

   Gold briefly dropped below $4,500 per ounce in the overnight hours, down 
more than $1,000 from its high point reached just last week. It then climbed 
back above $4,800 before settling at $4,652.60, down 1.9% from Friday.

   Silver's price has been on an even wilder ride recently, and it swung from a 
9% loss overnight to a modest gain and back to a loss of 1.9%.

   Gold and silver prices had surged as investors looked for safer things to 
own amid a wide range of worries, including a Federal Reserve that may be set 
to become less independent, a U.S. stock market that critics say is expensive, 
threats of tariffs and heavy debt loads for governments worldwide.

   Their prices cratered on Friday, including a 31.4% plunge for silver. Some 
on Wall Street saw it as a result of President Donald Trump's nomination of 
Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Fed. Warsh's reputation as a former Fed 
governor may have raised expectations that he may keep interest rates high to 
fight inflation, which would reduce the need to hide out in gold and silver for 
protection.

   But many on Wall Street are also skeptical of that initial reading and say 
the expectation from Trump is likely that Warsh will cut interest rates, 
something the president has been demanding. That could give the economy a boost 
but also worsen inflation over the long term.

   The Fed's chair has a big influence on the economy and markets worldwide by 
helping to dictate where the U.S. central bank moves interest rates. That 
affects prices for all kinds of investments, as the Fed tries to keep the U.S. 
job market humming without letting inflation get out of control.

   The recent swoons for gold and silver may also simply mark the return of 
gravity for two investments whose price shot very high, very fast. They're 
likely more about the washout for some traders who had borrowed money to bet on 
metals' prices continuing to soar, rather than about a wholesale change in 
expectations for demand for metals, according to Darrell Cronk, chief 
investment officer for Wealth & Investment Management at Wells Fargo.

   On Wall Street, Sandisk leaped 15.4% to lead the S&P 500. The data-storage 
company added to its 6.9% gain from Friday, after it reported stronger profit 
for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It credited demand created by 
the artificial-intelligence boom, among other things.

   That helped offset a 2.9% drop for Nvidia, whose chips are powering much of 
the world's move into AI technology. The losses were worse in Asia, where AI 
winners plunged. South Korea's Kospi fell 5.3% from its record for its worst 
day in almost 10 months after chip company SK Hynix lost nearly 9%.

   The Walt Disney Co. fell 7.4% even though the entertainment giant reported a 
stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It warned of 
challenges that are keeping international visitors away from its U.S. theme 
parks, among other things.

   Oil prices dropped more than 4% after Trump told reporters that Iran is 
"seriously talking to us." It's a potential signal of improving relations 
between the two countries, which could keep oil flowing easily around the world.

   The drop in oil prices could mean less painful fuel bills for airlines and 
cruise ships. That helped Carnival steam 8.1% higher, and United Airlines climb 
4.9%.

   All told, the S&P 500 rose 37.41 points to 6,976.44 and finished just shy of 
its record set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 515.19 to 
49,407.66, and the Nasdaq composite gained 130.29 to 23,592.11.

   In the bond market, Treasury yields edged higher after a report said that 
U.S. manufacturing grew last month, when economists were expecting a 
contraction. The yield on the 10-year Treasury erased an earlier dip and rose 
to 4.28%, up from 4.26% late Friday.

   Such strong figures could persuade the Federal Reserve to stay on pause with 
its cuts to interest rates. The next big set of data that could sway the Fed 
was supposed to come on Friday, when the U.S. government was due to update the 
nation's unemployment rate. But that report has been postponed because of the 
partial federal government shutdown.

   In stock markets abroad, European indexes rose roughly 1% following a 
washout in Asia. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.3%, while stocks fell 2.2% in Hong 
Kong and 2.5% in Shanghai.