Stock Market Live February 3, 2026: S&P 500 (SPY) Soaring on AI Strength
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Palantir’s 2026 revenue guidance implies 61% growth, compared with Wall Street’s 43% estimate.
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Palantir’s commercial business accelerated 137% year over year while government business grew 66%.
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Deutsche Bank maintains a $6,000 per ounce price target for gold.
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Here’s Why USA Rare Earth is up 15%
Shares of USA Rare Earth (USAR) are up more than 15%, or by $3.50 a share.
All after President Trump announced a $12 billion stockpile of rare earth minerals for non-military civilian purposes.
The endeavor, coined “Project Vault,” would be funded by a $10 billion loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, along with $2 billion in private-sector financing, the president said. The minerals would be procured and stored for automakers, tech firms, and other types of manufacturers, as noted by CBS News.
All as the U.S. tries to break its dependency on China for supply.
For years, the U.S. has been overly dependent on China, which controls about 80% of the world’s rare earth supply.
However, as we’ve learned the hard way, that has to change. After all, without rare earths, the world can’t produce the millions of electric vehicles government leaders want on the roads. We can’t produce smartphones, computers, flat panel televisions, wind turbines, electric vehicle batteries, computer chips, defense equipment, semiconductors, digital cameras, or catalytic converters.
Piper Sander Says it’s Time to Buy the Dip in MSFT
Just a few minutes ago, analysts at Piper Sandler named Microsoft its top pick in software.
Even with concerns about growth in Azure and other cloud offerings, the analysts believe investors are overreacting to the news. They also believe MSFT is a big winner with AI.
“We see Microsoft as perhaps the best pure-play on AI adoption today,” wrote analyst Billy Fitzsimmons, as quoted by CNBC.
“We believe Microsoft is best positioned to benefit from the elevated AI infrastructure spending. We also believe Microsoft is in a better financial position than some peers to make the necessary capital expenditures, with a robust balance sheet and expectations that free cash flow remains soundly positive over the next few years.”
Rare Earth Stocks Jump on Trump Plans
Rare earth stocks, like MP Materials (MP) and USA Rare Earth (USAR), are taking off on news of President Trump’s mineral reserve.
“The moves come after Trump on Monday outlined details for Project Vault, a first-of-its-kind strategic minerals reserve designed for the U.S. private sector,” added CNBC. “The plan is set to pool $2 billion in private capital with a $10 billion loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank.”
“Just as we have long had a strategic petroleum reserve and a stockpile of critical minerals for national defense, we’re now creating this reserve for American industry, so we don’t have any problems,” Trump says.
Markets are pointing to a higher open.
The S&P 500 is up 0.26%, or by 18 points. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY | SPY Price Prediction) is up 0.24%, or by $1.70. The Dow is up by about 27 points, as the Nasdaq tacks on 0.51%, or 132 points.
Palantir Soars on Earnings Thanks to the AI Boom
Fueling some of that momentum was Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR), which posted strong earnings and an impressive revenue forecast for 2026, with analysts pointing to the AI boom for the results. Q4 EPS of 25 cents on revenue of $1.41 billion came in better than the forecast for 23 cents on revenue of $1.33 billion.
Palantir’s commercial business accelerated 137% year over year in the fourth quarter, while its government business grew 66% year over year, wrote Goldman Sachs, as noted. by CNBC. “But analysts were even more blown away by Palantir’s strong revenue forecast. The company’s 2026 guidance implies topline growth of 61%, ahead of Wall Street’s 43% estimate. Sell-side shops applauded Palantir as a clear artificial intelligence leader, pointing out that its earnings report proves that companies are embracing AI.”
It May Be Time to Buy the Dip in Gold and Silver
Over the last few days, gold and silver plummeted on U.S. dollar strength, and President Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh for the Federal Reserve.
But, according to analysts at JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank, it’s time to buy again.
Deutsche Bank, for example, reiterated its $6,000 per ounce target for gold. “Gold’s thematic drivers remain positive, and we believe investors’ rationale for gold (and precious) allocations will not have changed. The conditions do not appear primed for a sustained reversal in gold prices, and we draw some contrasts between today’s circumstances and the context for gold’s weakness in the 1980s and 2013,” they added, as quoted by CNBC.
Gold is up 6%, or by $285 per ounce. With silver, it’s up about 14% to $88.03.
AMD Earnings are on Deck
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) will post fourth-quarter earnings after the bell tonight.
Analysts expect the company to post EPS of 1.32 a share, which would be 21.1% year over year growth. Revenues are expected to come in around $9.67 billion, up 26.2% year over year. In its last earnings report, the company beat estimates with EPS of $1.20 on sales of $9.2 billion.
The company has a solid track record of beating EPS and revenue estimates, with the preceding four quarters surpassing analysts’ estimates.
Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) will post fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings on Wednesday after market close. Analysts anticipate EPS of about $2.58 to $2.59, or 20% to 20.5% year-over-year growth. For the full fiscal year 2025, Wall Street analysts expect Alphabet’s diluted EPS to grow by 31.6% annually to $10.58, followed by a 4.4% improvement to $11.04 in fiscal 2026.
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