GoAI Market Wrap - 7th Feb
Stock Market
Overnight and into this morning, the "buy the dip" mentality exploded across U.S. markets following three days of heavy selling. The S&P 500 posted its largest single-day gain since last May, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average made history by closing above the 50,000-point milestone.
At the close:S&P 500: Up 1.97% to 6,932.3 points. Nasdaq Composite: Up 2.18% to 23,031.21 points. Dow Jones Industrial Average: Up 2.47% to 50,115.67 points.
Friday marked another historic 10,000-point breakthrough for the Dow, which first crossed the 40,000 mark in May 2024. NVIDIA surged over 7% in a single day, adding more than $320 billion in market value. This, combined with continued inflows into cyclical and value stocks like Caterpillar, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan, propelled the nearly 130-year-old index to new record highs.
Risk-on sentiment returned elsewhere as well, with spot silver—a recent proxy for extreme risk appetite—rebounding nearly 10% on Friday, while Bitcoin jumped nearly 12%.
However, the AI narrative remained under pressure. Amazon fell over 5% (dropping as much as 9% intraday) after announcing a massive $200 billion capital expenditure plan for 2026. Google, which earlier disclosed $185 billion in capex, also fell over 2% on Friday. The weakness in these "big spenders" felt out of sync with the broader rally and suggests that market skepticism regarding AI spending has not yet dissipated.
Adam Turnquist, Chief Technical Strategist at LPL Financial, noted that without a stronger contribution from the tech sector, the S&P 500 may struggle to break through the 7,000-point level where it has hovered for months.
Addressing these concerns, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang appeared publicly again on Friday, stating that massive AI spending is "rational and sustainable." He emphasized that as long as companies can profit from their AI investments, they will "double down, and double down, and double down, and double down."
Global Markets
U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks in Oman Conclude
On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi spoke to the media following indirect nuclear negotiations with the U.S. Araghchi described the hours of high-intensity consultations as a "good start" and stated that dialogue would continue, though negotiators must now report back to their respective leaderships for further instructions.
He added that officials would return home for consultations while stressing the need to break the "long-standing wall of mistrust" between the two nations.
Most Expensive Olympic Gold Medals in History
As the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics officially open, volatility in the metals market has pushed the material value of this year's gold medals to record highs. Based on Friday's closing prices for spot gold and silver, the material value of a Milan gold medal (500g of pure silver + 6g of gold plating) reached $2,210, while the silver medal (500g of pure silver) is valued at $1,251.
Corporate News
Tesla Reportedly Scouting Locations to Boost Solar Capacity
Tesla is reportedly evaluating options to expand its solar production capacity, including increasing the capacity of its Buffalo, New York plant to 10 GW and building additional factories in New York, Arizona, or Idaho.
On a podcast earlier this week, Elon Musk stated that both SpaceX and Tesla are working toward an annual solar production goal of 100 GW.
FDA Announces Crackdown on "Illegal GLP-1 Clones"
The U.S. FDA issued a statement after Friday's close announcing plans to crack down on unapproved GLP-1 drugs. Following the news, Hims & Hers Health—which just launched a compounded oral semaglutide this week—plunged over 13% in after-hours trading, while Novo Nordisk rose over 5%.
Stellantis Abandons EV Dream with €22.2 Billion Loss
European auto giant Stellantis saw its U.S.-listed shares close down 23.69% on Friday. The company announced a restructuring plan that includes a major scale-back of its electric vehicle business, resulting in a €22.2 billion loss.
Forex & Commodities
COMEX Gold futures rose $99.10 (2.03%) to $4,988.6/oz, while COMEX Silver futures increased $0.81 (1.06%) to $77.525/oz. Spot Gold jumped $185.66 (3.88%) to $4,966.22/oz, and Spot Silver surged $6.87 (9.68%) to $77.85/oz.
International oil prices rose on February 6, with WTI Crude futures gaining $0.21 (0.33%) to close at $63.5 per barrel. Bitcoin surged back above $70,000, recovering nearly all of Thursday's losses.
Key Events
EU Proposes 20th Round of Russia Sanctions Targeting Energy and Finance
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Friday that the Commission has proposed a 20th round of sanctions against Russia, expanding restrictions on energy, banking, goods, and services.
Von der Leyen stated: "As critical peace negotiations proceed in Abu Dhabi, we must remain clear-eyed: Russia will only come to the table under pressure. That is the only language Russia understands, which is why we have decided to further increase the pressure today."
Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $70,445.93, up 6.93% in 24 hours;
Ethereum (ETH) is at $2,057.94, up 6.09%.
Major altcoins are also rallying, with XRP up 14.71% to $1.46, Solana (SOL) up 9.46% to $87.09, BNB up 4.55% to $656.95, and Dogecoin up 8.51% to $0.09844.
Key Events
Bitcoin's "Rollercoaster" Reignites Speculation; Analysts Say Short-Term Highs May Be Elusive
Bitcoin is reclaiming its status as the favorite for high-risk speculators. The violent rebound on Friday quickly translated into gains for public companies utilizing "HODL" treasury strategies. Following Thursday’s crash, Bitcoin saw its largest single-day rebound in nearly three years, rising roughly 13% from an overnight low near $60,000 to back above $70,000.
TD Cowen analyst Lance Vitanza noted in a recent report that even if this isn't the end of the crypto sell-off, Strategy Inc. "remains well-positioned to withstand further significant declines in Bitcoin." He maintained a "Buy" rating on the stock with a $440 price target, representing significant upside from Thursday's close of $106.99.