01 Stock Market
The U.S. major indexes closed as follows: Dow Jones down 1.73% at 45,166.64; S&P 500 down 1.67% at 6,368.85; NASDAQ down 2.15% at 20,948.36. Heightened geopolitical tension in the Middle East and renewed concerns about big-tech spending on artificial-intelligence projects triggered broad risk aversion, sending all three benchmarks to their lowest finishes in nearly two months.
Precious-metals and energy plays outperformed as tech leaders slumped. Leveraged silver fund AGQ up 8.57% at $103.43 and gold proxy GLD up 3.51% at $414.70 surged after bullion prices spiked. Oil tracker USO up 5.92% at $124.20 rallied alongside a jump in crude, while three-times semiconductor bull fund SOXL down 4.82% at $46.61 and tech-focused TQQQ down 5.94% at $38.78 reflected the slide in growth shares. Among mega caps, META down 3.99% at $525.72, MSFT down 2.51% at $356.77, TSLA down 2.76% at $361.83, NVDA down 2.17% at $167.52 and AAPL down 1.62% at $248.80 all weighed on the broader market, while memory-chip maker MU eked out a 0.50% rise to $357.22 and storage peer SNDK gained 2.10% to $615.83 on hopes for stronger data-center demand.
Investors rotated into defensive and commodity-linked assets as reports of U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities stoked fears of wider conflict and potential energy supply disruptions. The prospect of higher capital spending by Big Tech on AI infrastructure, coupled with talk of weaker free-cash-flow trajectories, further pressured sentiment. Short-tech hedge vehicle SQQQ advanced 5.96% to $87.42, highlighting growing hedging activity, while gold-miner levered note GDXU jumped 12.17% to $165.95, underscoring the flight to safety.
02 Other Markets
U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose by 0.54%, latest at 4.44%.
USD/CNH rose 0.01%, at 6.91; USD/HKD rose 0.10%, at 7.83.
U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.31%, at 100.19.
WTI crude futures rose 7.09%, at 101.18 USD/bbl; COMEX gold futures rose 2.55%, at 4,521.30 USD/oz.
03 Top News
1. U.S. and Israeli forces struck Iran’s Mobarakeh Steel complex, signaling an escalation of regional hostilities. Iranian media said an electrical substation and alloy-steel facilities were hit, targeting a company already under U.S. sanctions. The attack heightened fears of supply shocks and propelled oil prices above $100 per barrel.
2. Former President Donald Trump announced a pause to further strikes on Iran’s energy assets, extending an earlier deadline for escalation. Posting on social media, he cited ongoing negotiations and claimed talks were “going very well.” Markets remained wary as Iran rejected direct discussions, keeping geopolitical risk elevated.
3. The Pentagon is weighing the deployment of an additional 10,000 troops to the Middle East amid the worsening Iran conflict. Sources told major U.S. media the move is under consideration to bolster regional security. The prospect of a larger U.S. military footprint adds to uncertainty for global markets.
4. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to vessels linked to hostile nations. State media reported two foreign ships were turned away, underscoring the vulnerability of a corridor that handles a fifth of global oil trade. Energy importers began contingency planning for potential supply disruptions.
5. Meta Platforms will spend more than $10 billion—up from $1.5 billion—to build an AI-optimized data center in El Paso, Texas. The project is expected to employ over 300 full-time staff and 4,000 construction workers at peak. Analysts say the expanded capex underscores CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s commitment to AI despite pressure on free cash flow.
6. Alphabet unveiled three memory-saving algorithms—TurboQuant, Quantized Johnson-Lindenstrauss and PolarQuant—to cut large-language-model costs. The techniques reduce vector quantization overhead and will be presented at an upcoming AI conference. Google says the breakthroughs will accelerate deployment of advanced AI across its cloud and consumer products.
7. Anthropic suffered a security lapse that leaked details of a powerful forthcoming AI model, triggering a sell-off in cybersecurity stocks. A draft blog post inadvertently disclosed the model’s cyber capabilities, Fortune reported. Shares of Tenable, SentinelOne and Zscaler fell between 8% and 10% as investors reassessed sector risks.
8. BYD posted a 38% drop in fourth-quarter profit as China’s electric-vehicle price war squeezed margins. Revenue slid 14% to 237.7 billion yuan, missing estimates and raising concern over the company’s aggressive discounting strategy. Management is shifting focus toward higher-margin overseas markets.
9. Elon Musk is considering allocating up to 30% of the planned SpaceX IPO to retail investors, according to media leaks. The unusually large public tranche would mirror Tesla’s sizable individual shareholder base. Market watchers say the move could deepen retail engagement but add volatility to the hotly anticipated listing.
10. Unity Software will divest its game-publishing arm and discontinue non-core advertising businesses while raising first-quarter revenue guidance. The restructuring aims to concentrate on real-time 3D tools and improve margins. Investors welcomed the shift, sending shares sharply higher in extended trade.
Sources: Reuters, Dow Jones, Tiger Newspress, public market data Disclaimer: This content is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice.