Investors are curbing risk-taking in the face of the continued slide in precious metal prices that began on Friday, following Donald Trump's appointment of Kevin Warsh to lead the U.S. Federal Reserve at the end of Jerome Powell's term, scheduled for May 2026.

Investors, who had feared that the next Fed chair might be beholden to the U.S. president, now consider Kevin Warsh a serious candidate, notably because he has already served as a governor of the U.S. central bank. As a result, gold, which had been in high demand for its safe-haven status, has lost some of its appeal.

At the same time, the appointment boosted the dollar against other currencies. Since precious metal prices are denominated in dollars, a stronger greenback makes these assets less attractive.

It should also be noted that precious metals such as gold and silver had a particularly dynamic start to the year, with respective increases of 13.4% and 19.1% in January, making some profit-taking unsurprising.

A "shutdown" and Data Releases on the Agenda

Investors also remain cautious with the new "shutdown" that took effect at midnight on Saturday. The partial closure of some U.S. government agencies, due to the lack of a budget agreement, is expected to be much shorter than the previous one (43 days, the longest in history). According to Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House of Representatives, it should end by Tuesday.

On the macroeconomic front, in France, S&P Global's manufacturing PMI rose from 50.7 points in December to 51.2 in January, a level not seen in 43 months.

In Germany, the manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 49.1 in January, beating the consensus of 48.7, after 47 in December, according to S&P Global. At 49.1 points, it's a three-month high, and while still in contraction territory, the pace of decline is slowing.

Further indicators on U.S. manufacturing sector activity will be released this afternoon.

On the currency market, the euro is virtually unchanged against the greenback (+0.05%), trading at 1.1852 dollars.

In commodities, oil prices are sharply lower, weighing on TotalEnergies shares (-2.22%).

Among other stocks, Eramet tumbled over 7% after the board of directors decided to terminate its CEO's tenure due to disagreements over management style, less than a year into the role.

Conversely, Capgemini rebounded and gained 1.50% after announcing its intention to sell CGS (Capgemini Government Solutions), its subsidiary holding a contract with ICE, the U.S. immigration enforcement agency.