New York, Jan 30 (AP) Prices are swinging across financial markets as investors try to figure out what President Donald Trump's nominee to be the next Federal Reserve chair will mean for them.

The initial reactions Friday have been uneasy and sometimes quick to change. The S&P 500 fell 0.2 per cent in early trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 47 points, or 0.1 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.3 per cent. The value of the US dollar initially sank against other currencies following Trump's announcement of Kevin Warsh's nomination before climbing back.

The price of gold went through a couple more cycles of tumbling sharply and retracing some of its losses.

Futures fell on Wall Street Friday as word leaked that President Donald Trump would nominate former Federal Reserve official Kevin Warsh to be the next chair of the US central bank.

Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were each 0.5 per cent lower before the opening bell. Nasdaq futures were down 0.6 per cent.

The US dollar also stabilised overnight and precious metals, which had been soaring past records almost daily, saw a big sell-off. Gold dipped 3.9 per cent to USD 5,144 an ounce, while silver tumbled under USD 100 an ounce after falling 13 per cent.

That sent shares in big miners down, led by Hecla, which slid 12 per cent. Newmont lost 8 per cent and Freeport McMoRan retreated 5.9 per cent in the early going.

Prices for precious metals have been surging as investors look for safer investments while weighing a wide range of risks, including a US stock market that critics say is expensive, political instability, threats of tariffs and heavy debt loads for governments worldwide.

The US dollar has seen its value sink over the last year because of many of the same risks that drove gold's price higher. Early Friday, the dollar was trading at 154 Japanese yen, up from 153.09 yen. The euro slipped to USD 1.1923 from USD 1.1971.

Warsh is viewed as a somewhat unlikely choice by Trump because he has long been considered a “hawk": someone who typically supports higher interest rates to control inflation. Trump has said the Fed's key rate should be as low as 1 per cent, far below its current level of about 3.6 per cent, a stance few economists endorse.

Warsh would replace current chair Jerome Powell when his term expires in May. Trump picked Powell to lead the Fed in 2017 but has been relentlessly assailed him for not cutting interest rates quickly enough.

The appointment, which requires Senate confirmation, amounts to a return trip for Warsh, 55, who was a member of the Fed's board from 2006 to 2011.

In other equities trading, Sandisk climbed 23 per cent before the opening bell after the data storage company trounced Wall Street's second-quarter sales and profit targets. Sandisk, which saw its data center revenue soar 64 per cent from the first quarter, credited the strong results to customers' adoption and deployment of AI.

At midday in Europe, Germany's DAX picked up 0.8 per cent, while the CAC 40 in Paris advanced 0.9 per cent. Britain's FTSE 100 was 0.5 per cent higher.

Elsewhere, The CEO of Indonesia's stock market, Imam Rachman, resigned Friday “As part of a commitment toward recent market conditions,” the exchange said in an announcement.

Jakarta's benchmark gained 1.2 per cent following news of his resignation. It had been trading at all-time highs but sank 7.4 per cent on Wednesday and 1.1 per cent on Thursday after MSCI, a US provider of global equity, fixed income and real estate indices, warned about market risks such as a lack of transparency.

Chinese markets retreated, with the Hang Seng in Hong Kong shedding 2.1 per cent to 27,387.11. Shares in major ports operator CK Hutchison Holdings dropped 4.6 per cent after Panama's Supreme Court ruled that the concession held by a subsidiary to operate ports at either end of the Panama Canal was unconstitutional.

That advanced a US effort to block any influence by China over the strategic waterway.

The Shanghai Composite index slipped 1 per cent to 4,117.95.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell back, losing 0.1 per cent to 53,322.85 as stocks related to artificial intelligence declined. Testing equipment maker Advantest lost 4.5 per cent and computer chip equipment maker Disco Corp. lost 1.7 per cent.

South Korea's Kospi gave up most of its gains late in the session, edging just 0.1 per cent higher to 5,224.36 after the Yonhap News Agency reported that a first day of talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick aimed at resolving trade tensions had not yielded an agreement. The talks are due to continue Friday.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said he planned to raise tariffs on South Korean exports if the US ally did not swiftly ratify a trade agreement worked out months ago.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.7 per cent to 8,869.10.

Taiwan's benchmark lost 1.5 per cent, while India's Sensex fell 0.3 per cent.

Oil prices slipped after jumping more than 3 per cent on Thursday due to worries about tensions between the United States and Iran, which could ultimately constrict the flow of crude. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned the US military “will be prepared to deliver whatever the president expects,” just a day after President Donald Trump told Iran to “make a deal” on its nuclear program.

US benchmark crude oil lost 32 cents to USD 65.10 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 40 cents to USD 69.19 per barrel. (AP) RD RD

Kevin Warsh nomination sparks volatile market moves, hitting equities, the dollar and precious metals while raising policy expectations. The nomination of Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair produced immediate market volatility: equity futures and major indices fell, the dollar initially weakened then stabilised, and precious metals plunged as investors reassessed safe-haven demand and interest-rate expectations. Warsh is portrayed as a hawk supporting higher rates, contrasting with the President's preference for lower rates. The appointment requires Senate confirmation and would replace the current chair at term expiry, making the nomination both a policy signal on likely monetary direction and a procedurally contingent political event affecting market expectations.