S&P 500 index declines for three consecutive days, Apple (AAPL.US) drops 5%, silver plunges over 10%

On Thursday, the three major indices plummeted, with the S&P 500 falling for the third consecutive trading day. Apple experienced its largest single-day decline since April 2025.

【US Stocks】At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 669.42 points, a 1.34% decrease, to 49,451.98; the Nasdaq fell 469.32 points, a 2.03% decrease, to 22,597.15; the S&P 500 declined 108.71 points, a 1.57% decrease, to 6,832.76. Apple (AAPL.US) tumbled 5%, Nvidia (NVDA.US) fell 1.64%, Amazon (AMZN.US) dropped 2.2%. SanDisk (SNDK.US) rose 5%.

【European Stocks】Germany’s DAX 30 index declined 1.46 points, a 0.01% decrease, to 24,878.95; the UK FTSE 100 fell 68.66 points, a 0.66% decrease, to 10,403.45; France’s CAC 40 rose 27.32 points, a 0.33% increase, to 8,340.56; the Euro Stoxx 50 declined 16.28 points, a 0.27% decrease, to 6,019.36; Spain’s IBEX 35 dropped 141.70 points, a 0.79% decrease, to 17,902.80; Italy’s FTSE MIB fell 255.33 points, a 0.55% decrease, to 46,255.50.

【Cryptocurrency】Bitcoin decreased 1.9%, trading at $65,810; Ethereum fell 0.86%, trading at $1,924.54.

【US Dollar Index】The dollar index, measuring the dollar against six major currencies, rose 0.1% today, closing at 96.928. At the New York close, 1 euro exchanged for 1.1866 USD, below the previous day’s 1.1882 USD; 1 British pound exchanged for 1.3623 USD, below the previous day’s 1.3637 USD. The USD/JPY rate was 152.94, up from 152.83; USD/CHF was 0.7697, down from 0.7703; USD/CAD was 1.3611, up from 1.3561; USD/SEK was 8.9226, up from 8.8813.

【Precious Metals】Spot gold fell 3.15%, to $4,922.30; spot silver dropped over 10%, to $75.244 per ounce. After falling below $5,000 per ounce, gold’s decline accelerated amid increased selling pressure, with prices briefly dropping to $4,878 per ounce. City Index and FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada said, “Due to previous volatility, many traders likely set stop-loss orders below $5,000 or above $5,100. As prices declined, stops below $5,000 were triggered, causing a chain reaction of selling and sharp short-term drops.”

【Crude Oil】WTI March futures fell 2.8%, settling at $62.84 per barrel; Brent April futures declined 2.7%, settling at $67.52 per barrel.

【Macro News】

The US initial jobless claims fell less than expected, with residual effects from winter storms still felt. The US Department of Labor reported that for the week ending February 7, seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims decreased by 5,000 to 227,000, slightly above the market expectation of 222,000. The decline only offset a small part of the previous week’s surge, which was attributed to widespread snowstorms, cold weather, and seasonal adjustments following fluctuations at the end of 2025 and early 2026. Despite faster job growth in January and the unemployment rate dropping from 4.4% in December to 4.3%, economists still describe the labor market as “low hiring, low layoffs.” The report also showed that continuing claims increased by 21,000 to 1.862 million, also affected by seasonal factors. Although long-term unemployment decreased in January, the median duration of unemployment remains near levels from four years ago. The employment outlook for recent graduates remains challenging.

US existing home sales in January experienced their largest decline in four years. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that the seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate for existing homes in January fell to 3.91 million units, an 8.4% month-over-month drop, the largest since April 2022 and well below market expectations. Severe snow and ice storms across much of the country in late January likely delayed many contract closings. In the hardest-hit southern regions—the largest housing market in the US—contracted sales plummeted 9% to an annualized rate of 1.81 million; other regions also saw significant declines. “The colder-than-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation in January make it difficult to determine whether the decline in sales is driven by fundamental factors or is an anomaly,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. With mortgage rates recently falling and home prices stabilizing, affordability signals are a bright spot for the housing market. The NAR Housing Affordability Index rose to its highest level since 2022 last month but remains well below pre-pandemic levels. Without sustained improvements in affordability, a housing market recovery could be prolonged.

Bank of America: US Treasury and Federal Reserve “potential agreement” unlikely to shake markets. Bank of America economists noted that investor speculation about a possible “collaborative agreement” between the Fed and the Treasury is raising questions. The bank believes such an agreement’s “definition remains unclear,” and the likelihood has probably been priced into the market. “Unless the agreement’s details go beyond current market discussions, it’s unlikely to cause significant price movements,” BofA said. The agreement would mainly focus on Fed balance sheet reduction and US debt issuance. Economists expect that if monetary policy is affected (which they consider unlikely) or if the Treasury limits long-term debt issuance (which they see as possible), the market impact could be more substantial.

Institutions: Wosh may not be the hawkish Fed figure the market expects. Evercore ISI analyst Krishna Guhar believes Kevin Wosh’s reputation as a hawk may be overstated. Although his nomination initially pushed up US Treasury yields and lowered gold prices, Wosh should be viewed as a pragmatic conservative who can distinguish between supply-driven and demand-driven inflation, making him potentially more flexible now. Wosh has pointed out that AI and productivity gains are positive supply shocks that could ease the pressure for tightening. He also supports balance sheet reduction but is unlikely to pursue aggressive tightening that could disrupt markets. In a tense political environment, the Fed is expected to continue a consensus-driven approach despite unusual pressures.

BlackRock’s Korea ETF sees record $281 million inflow in one day, the largest in 25 years. BlackRock’s ETF heavily weighted toward Korean chipmakers attracted $281 million in a single day on Wednesday, marking the largest single-day inflow in over 25 years. This reflects investors’ increased bets on the rise of Asian semiconductors. The $13 billion iShares MSCI Korea ETF’s top holdings are Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix—two chip giants that have driven Korea’s Kospi index up over 30% this year to record highs. Data shows that the ETF has accumulated over $3 billion in inflows in the past three months. Despite concerns about overvaluation in AI-related tech stocks causing broader volatility, investors are rotating into memory chip manufacturers with clearer profit prospects. “Amid AI-driven anxiety across many industries, memory stocks are seen as safe havens,” said Jones Trading sales trader and macro strategist Dave Lutz, “Samsung and Hynix continue to push Korea’s market higher.”

【Stock News】

Nvidia (NVDA.US) plans to lease a data center financed by $3.8 billion in junk bonds. Nvidia expects to lease a data center supported by $3.8 billion in junk bond financing. This move further fuels the borrowing frenzy around AI infrastructure. Sources say that an entity supported by asset management firm Tract Capital will issue debt to fund part of the construction costs for a 200 MW data center and substation in Story County, Nevada. Due to strong demand, the bond issuance size increased by $150 million on Thursday afternoon. Sources also indicate that the current pricing discussions target a yield around 6%.

Rivian (RIVN.US) bets on R2 with a desperate comeback as subsidies end. As Rivian aims to control costs ahead of its next-generation SUV launch, the company warned that losses this year could be higher than expected. In its Q4 earnings release, Rivian projected an adjusted EBITDA loss of $1.8 to $2.1 billion for 2026. While this range shows some improvement over last year’s losses, it exceeds analysts’ prior estimate of about $1.8 billion. The forecast indicates that, amid weak EV demand, high raw material costs, and the loss of regulatory credits following the Republican-led rollback of EV-friendly policies, Rivian’s path to profitability remains challenging. Rivian also announced that its highly anticipated R2 mid-sized electric SUV will launch as planned in Q2. This model is crucial for increasing production and improving profitability, and will be priced lower to boost sales.

【Major Bank Ratings】

Citibank: Upgraded Cloudflare (NET.US) target price from $260 to $265, maintaining a buy rating.