US futures slip while Asian shares surge as Fed chair Powell faces legal threat

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BANGKOK (AP) — U.S. futures sank while markets in Asia advanced Monday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Department of Justice had served the central bank with subpoenas.

The threat of a criminal indictment over Powell’s testimony about the Fed’s building renovations is the latest escalation in President Donald Trump’s feud with the Fed. Trump has criticized the $2.5 billion renovation of two office buildings as excessive.

Markets appeared to take the news in stride, although gold and other precious metals often used as a hedge in times of uncertainty climbed.

The future for the S&P 500 declined 0.6% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%. The future for the Nasdaq composite index slipped 0.9%.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.2% to 26,547.64, while the Shanghai Composite index jumped 1% to 4,163.11 after reports that Chinese leaders were preparing more help for the economy.

Tokyo's markets were closed for a holiday. However, the U.S. dollar was nearly unchanged against the Japanese yen at 158.02 yen.

In South Korea, the Kospi added 0.8% to 4,624.79, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5% to 8,759.40.

Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.9%.

On Friday, U.S. stocks hit records following a mixed report on the U.S. job market, one that may delay another cut to interest rates by the Federal Reserve but does not slam the door on it.

Powell’s term as chair ends in May, and Trump administration officials have signaled that he could name a potential replacement this month. Trump has also sought to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook.

In a brief interview with NBC News Sunday, Trump insisted he didn’t know about the investigation into Powell. When asked if the investigation is intended to pressure Powell on rates, Trump said, “No. I wouldn’t even think of doing it that way.”

The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to 6,966.28, topping its prior all-time high set earlier in the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5% to 49,504.07, and likewise set a record.

The Nasdaq composite led the market with a 0.8% gain, closing at 23,671.35.

The U.S. Labor Department said employers hired fewer workers during December than economists expected, though the unemployment rate improved and was better than expected. It reinforced how the U.S. job market may be in a “ low-hire, low-fire” state and may hopefully avoid a recession.

An update on U.S. inflation at the consumer level is due Tuesday, followed by a report on wholesale prices on Wednesday.

Power company Vistra soared 10.5% to help lead the market Friday after signing a 20-year deal to provide electricity from three of its nuclear plants to Meta Platforms. Big Tech companies have been signing a string of such deals to electrify the data centers powering their moves into artificial-intelligence technology.

Homebuilders and other companies involved in the housing market gained after President Donald Trump announced a plan to lower mortgage rates. Trump has called for the purchase of $200 billion in mortgage bonds, similar to how the Fed in the past has bought bonds backed by mortgages to bring down mortgage rates.

Builders FirstSource, a supplier of building products, jumped 12% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500 along with Vistra. Among homebuilders, Lennar rallied 8.9%, D.R. Horton climbed 7.8% and PulteGroup rose 7.3%.

They helped offset a 2.7% drop for General Motors. The auto giant said it will take a $6 billion hit to its results for the last three months of 2025 related to its pullback from electric vehicles. That’s on top of the $1.6 billion in charges GM took in the prior quarter. Fewer tax incentives and easier fuel-emission regulations have been eating into demand for EVs.

In other dealings early Monday, the euro climbed to $1.1671 from $1.1635 late Friday.

U.S. benchmark crude oil added 8 cents to $59.20 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 9 cents to $63.43 per barrel.

The price of gold rose 1.9% and the price of silver jumped 6.4%. Copper was up 1.4%.