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NEW YORK — <\/span>Wild swings that swept through financial markets overnight are calming a bit as Wall Street opens for trading. U.S. stocks are falling modestly early Monday following gains in Europe and sharp drops in Asia, while gold and silver prices rallied back from severe earlier losses. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% and is on track for a fourth straight modest loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 173 points, and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.2%. Big technology stocks weighed on the market, including Nvidia, whose chips are powering much of the world\u2019s move into artificial-intelligence technology. The losses were much worse in Asia, where AI winners plunged. <\/p>\n THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP\u2019s earlier story follows below.<\/p>\n U.S. futures slid on Monday as questions lingered over President Donald Trump\u2019s nominee to be the next Federal Reserve chair and jitters over a possible AI bubble resurfaced.<\/p>\n Futures for the S&P 500 sank 0.7% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%. Nasdaq futures were off 0.7%.<\/p>\n Oil prices tumbled more than 5% at one point overnight. Gold and silver, which had been on a tear before plunging on Friday<\/a>, regained some of those losses but remained well off of recent highs. The price of gold rose 1.3% to about $4,800 per ounce, while silver gained 5.9% to $83.19.<\/p>\n Bitcoin stabilized somewhat after falling 12% since Wednesday. It was up about 1.5% to just over $78,000, though many cryptocurrency-related companies continued to slide. Crypto trading platform Coinbase was down 3.7% in early trading and bitcoin holder Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, tumbled 7.6%.<\/p>\n This week brings another big batch of corporate earnings reports for investors to interpret, along with three separate sets of government data on the labor market, including the Friday’s January jobs report.<\/p>\n Walt Disney Co. shares ticked up less than 1% early Monday after the entertainment giant posted strong first quarter results, powered by box-office hits \u201cZootopia 2\u201d<\/a> and \u201cAvatar: Fire and Ash.\u201d<\/p>\n Revenue for Disney Entertainment, which includes the company\u2019s movie studios and streaming service, climbed 7%, while revenue for the Experiences division, its parks, rose 6%.<\/p>\n Investors are still considering how Kevin Warsh<\/a>, Trump\u2019s nominee to lead the Federal Reserve<\/a>, might handle interest rates. Trump has been highly critical of current Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May.<\/p>\n Warsh\u2019s nomination requires Senate approval. But financial markets fear the Fed may lose some of its independence because of Trump, who has pushed hard for more and faster rate cuts. That fear has helped catapult skyward the price of gold and weaken the U.S. dollar\u2019s value over the last year. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople do not get handed the keys to the most powerful central bank on earth because they plan to drive in the opposite direction of the people who gave them the keys,\u201d Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. <\/p>\n The Fed chair has a big influence on the economy and markets worldwide by helping to dictate where the U.S. central bank moves interest rates. That affects prices for all kinds of investments, as the Fed tries to keep the U.S. job market humming without letting inflation get out of control. <\/p>\n