GuShiio.com ① Most popular Chinese stocks rose, with the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index rising 1.35%;
②OpenAI’s valuation is expected to rise to 300 billion;
③ Trump hinted that he still opposes Japan Steel’s acquisition of U.S. steel;
④ Hedge fund manager Bill Ackerman made a big move on Uber.
Financial Union, February 8 (Editor Niu Zhanlin)On Friday, the three major U.S. stock indexes closed down collectively under the double pressure of inflation concerns and tariff threats.
When meeting with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba that day, Trump said that he plans to announce “reciprocal tariff” measures next week. This means a significant escalation of the trade war between the United States and its economic partners, and he did not specify which countries would be hit.
Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide, said: “Today, the non-farm payrolls report set the tone for the market early, but after Trump issued the tariff threat, people began to pay attention to changes in trade policies and their impact on the economy and the market. The non-farm impact was forgotten.”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released data released earlier in the day showed that the number of non-farm payrolls in the United States in January was 143,000, lower than economists ‘expectations of 170,000, and the unemployment rate was 4%, lower than the expected 4.1%.
Although job growth slowed more than expected in January, a 4% unemployment rate may give the Fed reason not to cut interest rates until at least June. Futures traders currently expect the Fed to cut interest rates only once this year.
Seema Shah, an analyst at Principal Asset Management, said: “The overall situation remains that the labor market is resilient and wage pressures persist, which gives the Fed no reason to immediately reduce policy rates.”
Another survey showed that U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly fell to a seven-month low in February, inflation expectations soared, and households expect inflation to soar to 4.3% next year, the highest level since November 2023.
Federal Reserve Governor Kugler said that given the stability of the job market, limited inflation progress in recent months, and uncertainty about fiscal and trade policy prospects, it is appropriate to keep benchmark interest rates unchanged for some time.
Glenmede analyst Jason Pride pointed out that the Fed has postponed expectations for the next rate cut, and today’s non-farm payrolls report justifies this approach.
market dynamics
At the close, the Dow fell 444.23 points, or 0.99% to 44,303.40 points; the Nasdaq fell 268.59 points, or 1.36% to 19,523.40 points; the S & P 500 Index fell 57.58 points, or 0.95%, to 6,025.99 points.
Eleven sectors in the S & P 500 index were wiped out, with consumer discretionary goods falling the most, at about 2.5%, real estate falling 0.42%, financial sector falling 0.59%, and industrial sector falling 0.34%.
Performance of hot stocks
Most large technology stocks fell, with Tesla and Google falling more than 3%, Apple falling more than 2%, Microsoft and Intel falling more than 1%, and Netflix falling slightly; Nvidia and Meta rising slightly.
Amazon fell more than 4%, after the e-commerce giant disappointed investors with performance guidance and expected capital expenditures to reach hundreds of billions of dollars.
U.S. Steel fell 5.8%. When Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, he hinted that he continued to oppose Japan Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel, disappointing those who expected the deal to come back to life.
Uber surged 6.6%. Billionaire and hedge fund manager Bill Ackerman disclosed that he owned 30.3 million shares of Uber stock, with a market value of US$2.3 billion at a price of approximately US$75 per share.
Most popular Chinese stocks rose, with the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index rising 1.35%. Futu Holdings rose more than 8%, Tiger Securities rose more than 6%, Ideal Car rose more than 4%, Alibaba rose more than 3%, iQiyi and Beili Bilili rose more than 2%, and Pianduo rose more than 1%.
company news
[German electric vehicle sales surged 54% in January, but Tesla sales fell 1875 vehicles]
Tesla was the biggest loser in the German electric vehicle market last month, as consumers snubbed the Elon Musk brand and bought more Volkswagen, Seat and BMW cars instead. More detailed data released by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority on Friday showed that Volkswagen had the fastest growth, with sales of electric vehicles increasing by 6521 units year-on-year. Volkswagen’s sub-brand Seat ranked second in growth, reaching 2,520 units. Authoritative organization KBA said that total sales of electric vehicles in Germany surged 54% year-on-year in January, but Tesla sales fell by 1,875 units. Tesla’s share of the EU’s largest electric vehicle market fell to 4%, down from 14% a year ago, lagging behind brands such as Skoda, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.
[It is said that SoftBank will bring huge sums of money into the game, OpenAI’s valuation is expected to rise to 300 billion]
Sources revealed that Japan’s Softbank Group is about to finalize a US$40 billion investment in the U.S. company OpenAI. The source added that SoftBank will pay the funds over the next 12 to 24 months, with the first payment due as early as this spring. OpenAI was valued at US$260 billion before the investment and will reach US$300 billion after the investment. At the end of last month, it was reported that the original target valuation of this round of financing was US$340 billion, but sources recently said that this figure would be close to US$300 billion.
[Automakers urge the U.S. Department of Transportation to restart federal electric vehicle charging program as soon as possible]
A group representing automakers and electric vehicle charging companies on Friday urged the U.S. Department of Transportation to restart a $5 billion government electric vehicle infrastructure plan as soon as possible. On Thursday, the Trump administration said it would suspend the electric vehicle charging program and withdraw approvals for state electric vehicle charging plans pending a new review. The Electric Drive Transportation Association, whose members include General Motors, Toyota, BorgWarner, EVGo, Wal-Mart, etc., said it urged the Trump administration to quickly resume key work of the plan and minimize uncertainty for states and their businesses.
