01 Stock Market
The U.S. major indexes closed as follows: the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.02% at 49,015.60; the S&P 500 down 0.01% at 6,978.03; and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.17% at 23,857.45.
Unusual-move stocks were led by semiconductors and storage as investors rotated into AI infrastructure winners. Intel (INTC) up 11.04% at $48.78; Seagate (STX) up 19.14% at $442.93; Western Digital (WDC) up 10.70% at $279.70; Micron (MU) up 6.10% at $435.28; SanDisk (SNDK) up 9.60% at $527.63; Nvidia (NVDA) up 1.59% at $191.52. Mega-cap tech was mixed: Microsoft (MSFT) up 0.22% at $481.63; Alphabet (GOOG) up 0.38% at $336.28; Apple (AAPL) down 0.71% at $256.44; Meta (META) down 0.63% at $668.73; Tesla (TSLA) up 0.13% at $431.46; Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) up 0.28% at $252.74. In healthcare, UnitedHealth (UNH) up 4.00% at $294.02. Precious-metals proxies saw strong moves: SPDR Gold (GLD) up 3.88% at $494.56; iShares Silver Trust (SLV) up 3.95% at $105.60; ProShares Ultra Silver (AGQ) up 7.80% at $400.47; leveraged chips via SOXL up 7.90% at $70.09.
Among popular U.S.-listed Chinese names, performance was mixed, with e-commerce diverging. PDD (PDD) down 3.84% at $102.81; Alibaba (BABA) up 1.70% at $175.66; Bilibili (BILI) up 3.58% at $35.92; NetEase (NTES) up 1.46% at $133.78. EVs were split: Li Auto (LI) up 2.39% at $17.15; XPeng (XPEV) up 0.48% at $18.66; NIO (NIO) down 1.08% at $4.59. Foundry names advanced unevenly: Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) up 1.17% at $342.30 while UMC (UMC) down 8.81% at $11.38.
02 Other Markets
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose by 0.00%, latest at 4.25.
USD/CNH rose 0.0000%, at 6.95; USD/HKD rose 0.0026%, at 7.80.
The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.0125%, at 96.35.
WTI crude futures rose 0.43%, at 63.48 USD/bbl; COMEX gold futures rose 2.60%, at 5,479.20 USD/oz.
03 Top News
Tesla said it will end the Model S and Model X programs, reallocating factory space to build Optimus humanoid robots, signaling a strategic pivot beyond autos. The shift prioritizes robotics capacity over legacy vehicles and comes as the company highlights Robotaxi and Optimus as future growth vectors. Management indicated Optimus production will take over S/X floor space, indicating capital and labor will be redirected.
ServiceNow reported higher profit as subscription revenue climbed about 21%, and it authorized an additional $5 billion buyback, reinforcing confidence in durable growth. Management projected similar subscription growth for the year and expanded an AI partnership with Anthropic. The company framed recent acquisitions, including Armis, as enhancing secure AI deployment across workflows.
IBM posted stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, and guided to more than 5% constant-currency revenue growth for the year, lifting the stock in after-hours trading. EPS of 4.52 and revenue of 19.7 billion both topped consensus. Management cited portfolio mix, software resilience, and innovation as drivers of double-digit profit and free cash flow growth.
Meta issued a stronger-than-expected revenue outlook and said AI capital spending would climb sharply, while promising to roll out new frontier models in the coming months. Q4 EPS and revenue beat estimates, and first-quarter sales guidance exceeded consensus. CapEx tied to Meta’s AI strategy is expected to rise significantly, with Reality Labs losses projected to remain at elevated levels near-term.
Microsoft delivered 39% Azure growth and 17% total revenue growth, modestly ahead of expectations, but shares fell in extended trading. Investors weighed heavier AI-related spend and competitive dynamics against the cloud growth beat. The company highlighted continued integration of OpenAI capabilities across services.
The Federal Reserve held the policy rate at 3.50%–3.75% and noted solid economic growth alongside still-elevated inflation, offering few hints on the next cut. Policymakers indicated timing and extent of further adjustments will depend on incoming data. Market pricing suggested rate reductions could resume around midyear as inflation trends and labor conditions evolve.
Amazon confirmed about 16,000 corporate job cuts, announced closures of Fresh and Go stores, and shelved its Amazon One palm-pay system as it streamlines and refocuses. Leadership said the restructuring aims to reduce bureaucracy and improve ownership while prioritizing AI and efficiency. The company left open the possibility of further adjustments by some teams.
C3.ai entered talks to merge with Automation Anywhere in a deal structure where Automation Anywhere would acquire C3.ai and go public, sparking a double-digit stock jump. The potential transaction would create a larger enterprise AI and automation platform. Discussions underscore consolidation momentum across AI software and workflow automation.
Starbucks beat expectations on global comparable sales and reinstated full-year targets as U.S. demand recovered under its turnaround plan. North America comparable sales rose, aided by simplified menus and promotional events. Management sees global same-store sales growth of roughly 3% or higher, with continued focus on core offerings and store-level efficiency.
AT&T forecast annual profit above expectations on the back of fiber expansion and spectrum acquisitions, pointing to stronger connectivity growth. The carrier added more fiber customers than anticipated and sees free cash flow improving over the medium term. Reorganized reporting will highlight advanced connectivity as the core of its business.
Sources: Reuters, Dow Jones, Tiger Newspress, public market data
Disclaimer: This content is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice.
