- A string of relatively strong US economic data has helped halt the dollar sell-off, while US equity indices and precious metals are sliding. Silver is down as much as 9%, testing $76 per ounce, while gold is off nearly 3% to around $4,950 per ounce.
- Nasdaq 100 (US100) futures are down nearly 1.5%, while declines in S&P 500 (US500) futures exceed 1%. Tech is being weighed down by Apple, which is falling more than 5% on disappointment over its latest AI upgrade for Siri. Data from Counterpoint Research also pointed to weaker handset demand in China; while Apple has held up better than some Chinese brands in that market, the outlook remains uncertain.
- The weakest stocks on the US stock market today are Cisco Systems, AppLovin and DoorDash with singificant weakness seen across IT services, semiconductors, banking & financials, precious metals & commodity miners sectors.
- Today’s US initial jobless claims came in at 227k versus 223k expected, with continuing claims edging slightly higher. Home sales also disappointed, falling by more than 8% versus roughly 4% expected, although the drop follows a strong increase in the prior month.
- Futures on cocoa plunge 4% today falling to the lowest level since September 2023, near $3700 per tonne amid rising supply from the West Africa and falling Cote d’Ivoire’s figures showing that, as of February 8, cumulative port arrivals/shipments since the start of the 2025/26 crop season on October 1 have fallen 4.5% y/y to 1.263 million tonnes.
- Change in U.S. natural gas inventories according to the EIA report (in billion cubic feet – bcf): -249 bcf (Forecast: -258 bcf, Previous: -360 bcf) and NATGAS is slightly down today, but futures on Brent Oil falls almost 3%. Trump and Netanyahu signalled that the deal between the Iran and the US is still possible.
- Bitcoin fell 2% today to $65.5k range amid software stocks sell-off on Wall Street and strenghtening US dollar. Markets are pricing longer than expected 'Fed pause' which may be not helpful for crypto assets. Ethereum is down almost 1% today, falling to $1.9k. Standard Chartered now expects Bitcoin to fall to $50k this year, ending 2026 at $100k level, with Etheruem 'bottoming' at $1.4k and $4k until the year-end.
(summary in progress)

Source: xStation5
US100 loses 1.5% 📉
🚨Gold slumps 3% amid markets preparing for Chinese Lunar Year pause
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Cocoa falls 2.5% to the lowest level since October 2023 📉