GoAI Market Wrap - 3rd Feb

Stock Market  

Last night and this morning, as the selloff storm in precious metals and crypto eased, U.S. stocks traded steadily overall. Better-than-expected PMI data helped the three major indices open lower but rally higher, closing all in the green.

 

At close:S&P 500 +0.54% to 6,976.44, Nasdaq Composite +0.56% to 23,592.11, Dow Jones Industrial Average +1.05% to 49,407.66.  

 

After Monday's close, the S&P 500 returned to challenging new highs. It is now just 2.16 points below its all-time closing high (6,978.60) and about 20 points from its intraday record (7,002.28).

 

This week, more than 100 S&P 500 companies will report earnings, including tech giants Amazon and Alphabet (Google parent). FactSet data shows roughly one-third of S&P 500 firms have reported so far, with nearly 80% beating expectations.

 

Spot gold and silver, closely watched by investors, have been mostly range-bound over the past few hours. Spot gold fell to around $4,400/oz in Asian trading Monday before narrowing losses to about $4,650/oz; spot silver rebounded from a low of $71/oz to near $79/oz.

 

Wells Fargo's Darrell Cronk commented: “Commodity price moves are less about a change in fundamental narrative and more about position washing — squeezing out unsteady or highly leveraged money. This is a market where fragility and extreme sentiment need to be watched closely.”

Global Markets  

Trump: US and India Reach Trade Deal  

 

President Trump posted on Truth Social Monday that he spoke with Indian Prime Minister Modi and reached a US-India trade deal. The US will cut “reciprocal tariffs” on India from 25% to 18%, effective immediately. India agrees to reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers on US goods, halt Russian oil purchases, and commit to buying more than $500 billion in US products.

 

Modi posted on social media, announcing only the reduction of tariffs on US goods to 18%.

 

US Nonfarm Payrolls Delayed Due to Government Shutdown  

 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Monday that the January nonfarm payrolls report, originally scheduled for this Friday, will not be released on time due to the U.S. government shutdown — the second in three months. The December JOLTS job openings report (Tuesday) and metropolitan area employment/unemployment report (Wednesday) will also be delayed.

Company News  

SpaceX, xAI Officially Announce Merger! Valuation Reportedly Reaches $1.25 Trillion  

 

SpaceX's website issued a statement announcing the official merger with xAI. While financial details were not disclosed, sources say SpaceX acquired xAI at a $250 billion valuation. Post-merger share price is near $527, corresponding to a $1.25 trillion valuation. Musk reiterated in the statement the value of building space data centers.

 

Waymo Raises $16 Billion, Valuation Hits $126 Billion  

 

Alphabet's autonomous driving unit Waymo announced Monday it closed a $16 billion funding round at a post-money valuation of $126 billion. Besides Alphabet, the round was led by Dragoneer Investment Group, DST Global, and Sequoia Capital, with large investments from a16z and Mubadala Capital, plus others including Bessemer Venture Partners, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and Temasek.

 

The statement noted Waymo's annual rides more than doubled to 15 million in 2025, with cumulative rides exceeding 20 million to date. The company aims to launch ride-hailing in over 20 cities including Tokyo and London this year.

 

AI Application Star Palantir Surges Post-Earnings

 

AI application stock Palantir, which had pulled back with the market, rose more than 6% Monday after earnings. The company guided fiscal 2026 revenue at $7.18–7.2 billion, well above analyst average of $6.27 billion.

 

Raspberry Pi Raises Prices Again Due to Memory Costs  

 

Two months after its first price increase, single-board computer maker Raspberry Pi announced another round of hikes Monday. Multiple models with 2GB+ RAM will rise by $10–$60 soon.

 

OpenAI Launches Standalone Codex App for Mac  

 

OpenAI launched a standalone app for its AI coding assistant Codex on Monday, currently available only to Mac users. OpenAI says the new app has a clean interface designed as a “command center” to help software developers manage multiple AI agents simultaneously.

Forex & Commodities  

International oil prices fell on February 2.

 

At close, NYMEX WTI March crude futures -2.88 to $62.33/bbl (-4.42%). COMEX gold March futures -64.20 to $4,680.9/oz (-1.35%). COMEX silver March futures +0.73 to $79.265/oz (+0.93%). Spot gold -205.25 to $4,660.1/oz (-4.22%). Spot silver -5.49 to $79.21/oz (-6.48%).

Key Events  

India Agrees to Halt Russian Oil Purchases + $500B US Goods Procurement  

 

Per Trump, US will cut “reciprocal tariffs” on India from 25% to 18%, effective immediately. In return, India commits to:  

1. Reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers on US goods, targeting 0%;  
2. Stop buying Russian oil, shift to more US oil (possibly Venezuelan);  
3. Increase “buy American” at higher levels, committing to over $500B in US energy, tech, agriculture, coal, etc.

Cryptocurrency  

Bitcoin (BTC) 24h +1.41% to $78,955.60.  

 

Ethereum (ETH) 24h +2.01% to $2,349.08.  

 

BNB 24h +1.17% to $773.47.  

 

XRP 24h +0.52% to $1.61.  

 

Solana (SOL) 24h +1.53% to $103.99.

Key Events  

Crypto Market Volatility Triggers $2.5B Bitcoin Liquidations  

 

CoinGlass data shows, amid selloff in stocks and precious metals, crypto plunged and Bitcoin investors liquidated $2.56B in recent days.  

 

Bitcoin short and long positions wiped out far less than the record $19B crypto liquidation after Trump's China tariff announcement. Still, analysts say the new liquidation wave shows crypto is highly sensitive to risk aversion.  

 

While Bitcoin's volatility is notorious, fresh AI-trade concerns and precious-metals selloff triggered by Trump's Warsh nomination added drag.