Overnight US stocks | The risk aversion logic failed, no risk assets were spared, cryptocurrencies, precious metals, crude oil, and US stocks all fell, and the S&P 500 index erased its gains for the year.

Global assets encountered Black Thursday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 indexes falling for the third consecutive trading day, wiping out the gains made earlier this year. [US Stocks] At the close, the Dow fell 592.58 points, or 1.20%, to 48908.72 points; the Nasdaq fell 363.99 points, or 1.59%, to 22540.59 points; the S&P 500 index fell 84.32 points, or 1.23%, to 6798.40 points. Tesla, Inc.(TSLA.US) fell 2%, NVIDIA Corporation(NVDA.US) fell more than 1%, Oracle Corporation(ORCL.US) fell 7%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index closed up 0.9%, while NIO Inc. Sponsored ADR Class A Autos(NIO.US) rose 6%. [European Stocks] The German DAX30 index fell 159.94 points, or 0.65%, to 24492.83 points; the UK FTSE 100 index fell 101.89 points, or 0.98%, to 10300.45 points; the French CAC40 index fell 23.99 points, or 0.29%, to 8238.17 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 42.62 points, or 0.71%, to 5927.85 points; the Spanish IBEX35 index fell 388.34 points, or 2.15%, to 17714.16 points; the Italian FTSE MIB index fell 823.93 points, or 1.77%, to 45812.50 points. [Cryptocurrencies] Bitcoin plunged over 13%, hitting a low of $62,333; Ethereum plunged over 14%, to $1,836. [US Dollar Index] The US Dollar Index, which measures the dollar against six major currencies, rose 0.21% to close at 97.824 in the foreign exchange market. By the end of New York trading, 1 euro exchanged for $1.1794, down from $1.1809 the previous trading day; 1 pound exchanged for $1.3549, down from $1.3663; 1 US dollar exchanged for 156.90 yen, up from 156.82 yen; 1 US dollar exchanged for 0.7774 Swiss francs, up from 0.7766 Swiss francs; 1 US dollar exchanged for 1.3682 Canadian dollars, up from 1.3668 Canadian dollars; 1 US dollar exchanged for 9.0363 Swedish krona, up from 8.9864 Swedish krona. [Metals] Precious metals plummet, with spot gold down 3.81% to $4,776.26, and spot silver down 19% to $71.40 per ounce. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) announced adjustments to the margin requirements for some gold, silver, and aluminum futures contracts, with gold's new margin requirement raised to 9% and silver's margin requirement raised to 18%. The new standards will take effect after the close on February 6th. [Crude Oil] March WTI crude oil fell 2.8% in the New York market, settling at $63.29 per barrel; April Brent crude oil fell 2.8% to $67.55 per barrel. [Macro News] US job openings in December fall to the lowest level since 2020. US job openings unexpectedly fell to the lowest level since 2020 in December, with layoffs increasing slightly, further indicating weak labor demand. Data from the Labor Department on Thursday showed that job openings fell from a revised 6.93 million in November to 6.54 million, below market expectations. The decline in job openings was mainly in professional and business services and retail, while the increase in layoffs reflected an expanding number of layoffs in the transportation and warehousing industries. Hiring has increased, but overall remains low. The data suggests that businesses remain cautious in their hiring pace as they assess their workforce needs and economic outlook. These data also reinforce the Fed's view that wage growth is not a source of inflationary pressures. The report shows that in December, there were 0.9 job openings per unemployed person, an indicator closely watched by the Fed to measure the balance between labor supply and demand. The ratio peaked at 2 to 1 in 2022. Bank of Canada Governor: Lowering rates before the economy fully adjusts to structural changes could fuel inflation. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem warned that lowering rates before the economy fully adjusts to structural changes could lead to future inflation. Macklem said, "We need to be careful not to misjudge the weakness in the economy." US tariff policies have dealt a heavy blow to the Canadian economy. However, Macklem believes that this supply shock is also a structural change. While monetary policy can help facilitate adjustments, it cannot restore the production efficiency lost due to trade friction. He said, "Monetary policy should not attempt to compensate for supply shortfalls. Lowering rates in a situation of weak economic activity, if the weakness is due to a decline in production capacity rather than cyclical downturn in demand, could result in future inflation." He added that excessive stimulus could also impede "necessary structural changes." Sources: ECB to broaden liquidity channels to more countries to promote the euro's position. Three sources revealed that the European Central Bank is working to expand the application of its liquidity mechanisms to more countries, to reduce the cost of the mechanism and make its use more convenient, with the aim of enhancing the international status of the euro. The specifics of this measure are still being discussed and are expected to be announced during the Munich Security Conference next week. The sources said that this move will provide unified access rules for entering into repurchase agreements with the European Central Bank. These mechanisms allow foreign central banks to borrow euros against collateral denominated in euros. They are designed for times of crisis when commercial banks outside the eurozone find it difficult to access single-currency liquidity. However, the ECB will retain the right to reject a central bank based on reputational grounds, and the policy-making governing council has the ultimate decision-making authority on any transaction. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey: 50-50 odds for rate cut in March "not too bad." Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey seemed to acknowledge market predictions of a 50-50 chance of a rate cut in March. He said in an interview on Thursday, "I think that by the time we get to March, having 50-50 odds for a rate cut is 'not too bad'." Previously, the Bank of England, with a slim 5-4 majority, decided to keep interest rates unchanged, surprising the market. Bailey said, "In some sense, the market is asking the same question as I am, or they are thinking about what question I am asking." In the latest policy meeting statement, Bailey said he believed further accommodation was available, but he added, "That does not mean that I expect to lower the benchmark rate at any specific meeting. In the meetings to come, I will ask if a rate cut is a reasonable measure." Bailey said he needs to see "more evidence" to prove that after the Bank of England expects inflation to approach the 2% target level in April this year, it will remain near this target level. Bailey also said that the Bank of England is now closer to the neutral rate level. This is part of the reason why the Monetary Policy Committee removed the word "gradual" from its statement regarding future rate cuts. [Stock News] NVIDIA Corporation(NVDA.US) postpones the release of new gaming chips due to storage chip shortages. Two sources revealed that due to the escalating impact of the global storage chip shortage caused by the artificial intelligence boom, NVIDIA Corporation will not release new graphics chips for gamers this year. This will be the first time in thirty years that NVIDIA Corporation has not released a new gaming graphics processor. One source stated that due to the shortage of storage chips, NVIDIA Corporation is also significantly reducing production of the current generation gaming chips - the NVIDIA Corporation GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards. Over the past year, due to supply shortages, the prices of NVIDIA Corporation's new gaming cards have risen in major retail stores and e-commerce platforms. A spokesperson for NVIDIA Corporation stated in a press release, "Demand for GeForce RTX series graphics cards from gamers remains strong, but the supply of storage chips is limited." The spokesperson did not comment on the delay in chip releases and added that NVIDIA Corporation is still delivering all GeForce series products and working closely with suppliers to maximize the supply of storage chips. Ethereum treasury ETHZilla(ETHZ.US) "surrenders" in the downturn, pivoting to real estate tokenization business. The ninth-largest Ethereum crypto treasury (DAT) company ETHZilla announced a pivot to real estate tokenization business, acquiring $4.7 million worth of 95 prefabricated and modular homes loans and planning to tokenize them on the Ethereum layer two network. These loans are collateralized with priority mortgage rights and are expected to yield approximately 10% annually, converting into cash flow. ETHZilla decided to pivot after a drop in its Ethereum holdings and stock price, falling over 90% from its peak value of $107 in August 2025, and selling over $110 million worth of Ethereum last year for buybacks and debt repayment. Tesla, Inc.(TSLA.US) CEO Musk clarifies: we are not developing a phone. Previously, according to a media report, SpaceX was developing an exclusive "Starlink" phone, aimed at preparing the company for a future large-scale IPO and further expanding its satellite business. The report stated that the device would directly connect to the Starlink satellite network, making SpaceX a direct competitor to traditional smartphone manufacturers. Musk later responded on social media, saying, "We are not developing a phone." He also criticized the media for spreading lies. Shell(SHEL.US) suspends oil and gas investments in Kazakhstan. The Chief Executive Officer of Shell announced that the company will suspend its investments in Kazakhstan due to lawsuits filed against oil giants in the country, which could involve amounts potentially in the billions of dollars. Kazakhstan is seeking compensation from multiple Occidental Petroleum Corporation companies through the country's courts and international arbitration institutions. In a recent lawsuit disclosed this month, Shell and its partners could face a payout of up to $4 billion. In addition, lawsuits regarding sulfur emissions exceeding standards and project costs are still ongoing. The CEO of Shell said, "This has indeed affected our willingness to further invest in Kazakhstan." While the company sees plenty of investment opportunities in the future, "we will wait to make decisions until there is a clearer assessment."