Stocks drop, then bounce amidst volatile week

The S&P 500 notched deep losses during the week before bouncing on Friday. Elsewhere, cryptocurrencies sold off dramatically. 

Stocks
The S&P 500 closed the prior week on a bearish note despite briefly trading at new all-time highs above the 7,000 level. On Monday, however, it managed to rise 0.54% to begin the week in the green. However, not all sectors took part in the rally. Nvidia (), for example, posted a steep drop on Monday due to questions regarding a potential investment in OpenAI. This weakness was echoed across the tech and software sectors on Tuesday, with many key stocks experiencing significant declines. Elsewhere, however, several major retail and consumer stocks pushed higher. Nevertheless, hope for a green week was initially diminished on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 closing down 0.5%, and doubly so on Thursday, when the index dropped 1.2%. The losses were fueled by a sell-off in tech stocks, as well as weaker-than-expected labor data. However, Friday brought a strong tech-led bounce that provided some relief going into the weekend. The S&P 500 closed the day up 1.97%, enough to push the index green for the week. Overall, distribution services, producer manufacturing, and transportation were the strongest-performing sectors during the week, while commercial services, technology services, and retail trade lagged.

Bonds
US Treasury yields kicked off the month by ticking higher following the latest ISM Manufacturing Index update, which showed growth in domestic factory activity. However, they slid substantially on Thursday in light of new data that showed increasing jobless claims and a weaker-than-expected increase in employment numbers. This caused 10-year yields to drop 2.1%, and 30-year yields to drop over 1.5% on Thursday alone.

Oil
Crude oil benchmarks began the week by dropping over 4% after the White House announced new talks regarding geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, as well as a new trade agreement with India. However, they rose again on Tuesday following new escalations in those same geopolitical tensions. On Thursday, however, they again fell by 3% following new developments in geopolitical affairs.

Gold 
Gold prices dropped over 4.8% on Monday, notching its third straight day in the red after its blistering rally the week prior. Gold then staged a counter rally on Tuesday, before giving up some of those gains on Thursday, then bouncing again on Friday. Silver followed in kind, though it ended the week down 9%, while gold finished up 5%. Metals are digesting large sell-offs from the previous week, which saw silver fall over 26.3% in one day.

Crypto 
Bitcoin and the crypto market were perhaps the biggest story during in the week. Bitcoin plunged below $73,000 on Tuesday before posting a weak bounce, then plunged again before bouncing on Friday. As of Friday's market close, it's down over 40% from its all-time high, and is now trading below the all-time high it made during the previous bull cycle. Altcoins followed the same trajectory, with many posting substantially larger loses compared to bitcoin. As of now, it looks like bitcoin's notorious 4-year cycle is playing out, where there's a timelapse of approximately 4 years from bull market top to bull market top (and bear market bottom to bear market bottom).

Source: Yahoo Finance, as of February 6, 2026.

KEY DATA FOR THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 9

Earnings reports will continue updates from pharmaceutical and restaurant corporations, among others. A GDP update will be among the economic reports on deck.

Source: Fidelity.com, as of February 6, 2026.