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Investing.com -- U.S. stocks traded marginally higher Monday, as investors braced for a key week featuring a Federal Reserve policy meeting and a wave of corporate earnings amid elevated geopolitical tensions.

At 09:34 ET (14:34 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 40 points, or 0.1%, higher, the S&P 500 index gained 18 points, or 0.3%, and the NASDAQ Composite rose 20 points, or 0.1%.

Fed meeting in spotlight

The main event of the week is the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, which is set to conclude on Wednesday, with markets broadly expecting the central bank to hold interest rates steady after three consecutive cuts in previous meetings.

"Similar to last year, it seems that the Fed will start an extended pause after a series of cuts at the end of last year," said analysts at ABN Amro, in a note. "We’ve recently updated our Fed forecast and now expect the policy rate to stay on hold until June. ’Fedspeak’ has turned relatively hawkish since the December meeting, growth is looking strong, and the unemployment rate has somewhat stabilized."

U.S. President Donald Trump’s spat with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, which has raised concerns over the independence of the Fed from political interference, will also be in the spotlight. Earlier this month, Powell said the Justice Department had opened a criminal investigation into him -- a move the long-time Fed leader described as politically motivated.

Powell is due to step down from the helm of the Fed in May, and Trump is expected to announce his replacement shortly.

Big tech earnings due

The calendar this week is also packed with corporate earnings that could influence market direction. About one-fifth of the S&P 500 is due to report quarterly results, including four of the so-called “Magnificent 7” megacap companies:

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is due to report on Wednesday, alongside Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), while Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is scheduled for Thursday.

Investors will scrutinize these reports for signs of resilience in consumer demand, progress on artificial intelligence initiatives, and the outlook for margins amid rising costs and geopolitical uncertainty.

Elsewhere, shares of American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) all fell on worries over possible flight delays and cancellations due to a heavy winter storm blanketing many American states.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) stock rose after the energy services company reported an 11% rise in fourth quarter adjusted profit as demand for its gas technology equipment and services more than offset weakness in its oilfield services and equipment business.

Gold surges above $5,100/oz

Global worries remained elevated as Trump warned on Saturday he would impose a 100% tariff on Canada if Ottawa follows through on a trade deal with China.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, for his part, said Canada has "no intention" of going after a free trade deal with China. He added that Ottawa respects its commitments made under a separate pact with the U.S. and Mexico, and would inform both of such an agreement before pursuing it.

This follows the U.S. president rowing back last week on his threat of trade tariffs on many countries in Europe as the U.S. received control of Greenland, and thus gaining strategic influence in the Arctic. 

Gold prices surged to record highs above $5,100 an ounce for the first time, extending a blistering rally from last week as investors rushed into the safe-haven asset amid an uncertain geopolitical landscape.

Additionally, oil prices edged slightly lower, consolidating after recent gains on renewed tensions between the U.S. and Iran as well as wintery conditions in large parts of the U.S. 

Brent futures gained 0.4% to $64.82 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.4% to $60.84 a barrel.

Both benchmarks notched weekly gains of 2.7% last week, closing on Friday at their highest points since January 14. 

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. had an "armada" heading toward Iran, one of the largest crude producers in the Middle East, and a U.S. military aircraft carrier strike group and other assets are expected to arrive in the region in the coming days.

Also, in the U.S., crude and natural gas production fell and spot power prices spiked as a winter storm swept across the country.

Ayushman Ojha contributed to this article

Investing.com - Futures linked to Canada’s commodity-focused main stock index ticked higher on Friday, as investors shrugged off fresh U.S. tariff threats and focused on an extended surge in metals prices.

By 07:09 ET (12:09 GMT), the S&P/TSX 60 index standard futures contract had gained 11 points, or 0.6%.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose by 0.4% to 33,144.98 on Friday, ending the trading week at a new record closing high. For the week marked by volatility stemming from uncertainty around geopolitical tensions, the average added 0.3%.

Underpinning the advance was the materials sector, which includes metals mining shares. Along with a spike in gold prices to fresh all-time peaks thanks to a rush to the perceived safety of bullion, silver, which has practical uses in everything from solar panels to medical coatings, has also climbed.

U.S. futures subdued

U.S. stock index futures hovered below the flatline as investors braced for a key week featuring a Federal Reserve policy meeting and a wave of corporate earnings amid elevated geopolitical tensions.

At 07:27 ET, Dow Jones Futures were mostly unchanged, S&P 500 Futures slipped 6 points, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 51 points, or 0.2%.

Wall Street is coming off a losing week, after increasing geopolitical tensions unnerved investors, with the benchmark S&P 500 losing about 0.4% for its second straight weekly decline.

One of the main events of the week will be the Fed’s two-day policy meeting, which is set to conclude on Wednesday. Markets broadly expect the central bank to hold interest rates steady after three consecutive cuts in previous meetings.

Elsewhere, President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he would place a 100% duty on Canada if America’s northern neighbor strikes a trade deal with China.

Trump warned on social media that Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has recently visited China to discuss trade and argued for a need for smaller countries to address economic coercion by global superpowers at a speech in Davos last week, could imperil Canada by reaching a new agreement with Beijing.

"China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life," Trump wrote, adding that "all Canadian goods and products coming into the U.S.A." would face the 100% import tax if an accord is made.

Carney, for his part, said Canada has "no intention" of going after a free trade deal with China. He added that Ottawa respects its commitments made under a separate pact with the U.S. and Mexico, and would inform both of such an agreement before pursuing it.

Gold’s new all-time peak

Gold surged past the $5,100 an ounce level on Monday, while silver also climbed to new all-time peaks.

The yellow metal advanced more than 8% last week. It has already risen nearly 17% this year, driven by a combination of geopolitical risk, expectations of easier U.S. monetary policy later in 2026, and sustained demand from central banks.

"While market conditions remain volatile, the broader backdrop remains supportive. Geopolitical tensions, central bank buying, and structural supply deficits leave both metals well positioned," analysts at ING said in a note to clients.

"Silver’s tight physical market and strong industrial demand should continue to provide a solid floor, though its elevated volatility means sharp swings remain likely," they continued.

Oil choppy

Elsewhere, oil prices were volatile, as traders assessed renewed tensions between the U.S. and Iran as well as a heavy winter storm pummeling large parts of the U.S.

Brent futures were last down by 0.1% to $65.04 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dipped 0.2% to $60.98 a barrel.

Both benchmarks notched weekly gains of 2.7% last week, closing on Friday at their highest points since January 14.

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. had an "armada" heading toward Iran, one of the largest crude producers in the Middle East, and a U.S. military aircraft carrier strike group and other assets are expected to arrive in the region in the coming days.

Also in the U.S., crude and natural gas production fell and spot power prices spiked as a winter storm swept across the country.

Investing.com -- The hierarchy of social platform influence within artificial intelligence may be undergoing a significant shift as video content gains traction. According to Adweek, citing new data from four distinct sources, YouTube has officially eclipsed Reddit Inc (NYSE:RDDT) as the primary social citation source for large language models.

This transition marks a notable reversal in how machines digest and reference human-generated information across the digital landscape. Historically, Reddit dominated this space due to its text-heavy format, but Adweek reports that YouTube has overtaken Reddit as the most frequently cited social platform in AI-generated responses.

Technical barriers that previously hindered video platforms are being dismantled by more sophisticated processing capabilities. While LLMs once struggled to parse visual media, Adweek notes that transcripts, explainers, and other information associated with videos on YouTube have allowed the video platform to flourish as a source that machines can easily read.

Recent performance metrics highlight the widening gap between the two platforms in terms of AI visibility. Data from Bluefish reveals that YouTube appeared as a cited source in 16% of LLM answers over the past six months, compared with 10% for Reddit.

This trend forces a strategic pivot for brands and marketers who have traditionally prioritized forum-based SEO. Organizations could now reconsider their content production cycles to ensure their expertise is captured within the searchable architecture of the world’s largest video site.

Reddit stock has kept steady amid the news, gaining 0.4% in afternoon trade Monday.

Investing.com -- Deutsche Bank upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions to Buy from Hold ahead of the December-quarter earnings season, saying the company’s growth outlook and valuation stand out in an IT services sector that still lacks clear visibility on 2026 demand.

The bank said early 2026 trading has been broadly positive for IT services stocks, up about 4.5% year to date, as sentiment improved amid signs of fatigue in the artificial intelligence trade.

Deutsche Bank remains cautious heading into the seasonally slow fourth quarter, citing limited visibility into client IT budgets and discretionary spending.

Cognizant is the exception. Deutsche Bank said the company has “righted the ship” and is positioned to deliver revenue growth above the industry average on a more durable basis, something it believes the market is underappreciating.

The bank raised its price target on Cognizant to $100 and said valuation also supports a more constructive view.

Elsewhere in the sector, Deutsche Bank expects digital engineering-focused firms such as EPAM Systems, Endava and Globant to face the most pressure, given their heavier exposure to shorter-cycle, discretionary projects. The bank said it is too early to turn broadly positive on the group, despite some early signs of stabilization.

One potential bright spot is banking and financial services. Deutsche Bank said spending tied to BFSI projects has shown steady growth in recent quarters, with some vendors reporting a pickup in discretionary work. With banking and financial services accounting for roughly 30% of industry-wide IT services revenue, the bank said sustained momentum there could serve as an early signal of a broader recovery in demand.

Investing.com – Germany stocks were higher after the close on Monday, as gains in the Consumer & Cyclical, Utilities and Software sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Frankfurt, the DAX added 0.20%, while the MDAX index gained 0.25%, and the TecDAX index climbed 0.25%.

The best performers of the session on the DAX were Bayer AG NA (ETR:BAYGN), which rose 4.06% or 1.81 points to trade at 46.37 at the close. Meanwhile, GEA Group AG (ETR:G1AG) added 3.39% or 2.05 points to end at 62.60 and E.ON SE (ETR:EONGn) was up 2.30% or 0.39 points to 17.34 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Rheinmetall AG (ETR:RHMG), which fell 2.13% or 39.00 points to trade at 1,791.00 at the close. Airbus Group SE (ETR:AIRG) declined 2.10% or 4.35 points to end at 202.35 and MTU Aero Engines NA O.N. (ETR:MTXGn) was down 1.51% or 5.70 points to 372.30.

The top performers on the MDAX were Puma SE (ETR:PUMG) which rose 16.92% to 21.63, Aroundtown Property Holdings PLC (ETR:AT1) which was up 5.81% to settle at 2.62 and Nemetschek AG O.N. (ETR:NEKG) which gained 4.69% to close at 81.40.

The worst performers were Kion Group AG (ETR:KGX) which was down 3.90% to 62.85 in late trade, Hensoldt Ag (ETR:HAGG) which lost 3.43% to settle at 84.55 and RENK Group AG (ETR:R3NK) which was down 3.31% to 57.48 at the close.

The top performers on the TecDAX were Nemetschek AG O.N. (ETR:NEKG) which rose 4.69% to 81.40, Nagarro SE (ETR:NA9n) which was up 4.50% to settle at 73.15 and Eckert & Ziegler AG O.N. (ETR:EUZG) which gained 3.73% to close at 16.15.

The worst performers were Hensoldt Ag (ETR:HAGG) which was down 3.43% to 84.55 in late trade, SMA Solar Technology AG (ETR:S92G) which lost 3.20% to settle at 37.52 and Elmos Semiconductor AG (ETR:ELGG) which was down 2.91% to 106.60 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by 315 to 315 and 26 ended unchanged.

Shares in Bayer AG NA (ETR:BAYGN) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 4.06% or 1.81 to 46.37.

The DAX volatility index, which measures the implied volatility of DAX options, was up 1.96% to 17.38.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 2.29% or 115.14 to $5,132.14 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March fell 0.51% or 0.31 to hit $60.76 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract fell 0.35% or 0.23 to trade at $64.84 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 0.49% to 1.19, while EUR/GBP unchanged 0.12% to 0.87.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.65% at 96.78.