GoAI Market Wrap - 24th Feb
Stock Market
Overnight, amid the resurgence of U.S. tariff uncertainties, a new version of the AI "ghost story" haunted Wall Street. All three major U.S. indices closed down by more than 1%, while gold and silver delivered standout performances.
By the close, the S&P 500 fell 1.04% to 6,837.75; the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.13% to 22,627.27; and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.66% to 48,804.06.
Market participants remain on edge following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that the administration’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) for mass tariffs was illegal. Investors are now assessing the implications of the new "Global Import Tariff" based on Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which caps rates at 15%.
Estimates suggest this shift could benefit countries previously facing higher duties, with Brazil’s trade-weighted average rate projected to drop by 13.6% and India’s by over 5%.
Attention now turns to Tuesday evening, when President Trump is set to deliver his annual State of the Union address.
Adding to the gloom was the viral spread of a fictional AI research piece titled *"The Intelligence Crisis of 2028."* Written by Citrini Research, the article presents a hypothetical macro study from June 2028, backward-reasoning the impact of AI agents on the economy. It argues that while AI significantly boosts productivity, it creates a decoupling from the real economic cycle: companies replace white-collar workers to boost margins, but the resulting collapse in consumer income triggers a brake-less negative feedback loop of further cost-cutting.
The "AI panic trade" hit several companies mentioned in the piece, with DoorDash and Blackstone falling over 6%, American Express dropping over 7%, and Uber and Visa also seeing sharp declines. Michael O’Rourke, Chief Market Strategist at JonesTrading, remarked: "It’s a staggering market reaction. I’ve seen this market show incredible resilience in the face of actual bad news; now, a piece of total fiction has sent it into a tailspin."
In more tangible news, AI startup Anthropic announced its tools can now modernize COBOL code—an ancient language critical to IBM mainframes used by governments and banks. The claim that AI can complete modernization projects in quarters rather than years sent IBM shares plunging over 13%.
Global Markets
European Parliament Suspends Transatlantic Trade Agreement Approval
Following major shifts in U.S. tariff policy, the European Parliament announced a suspension of the approval process for the EU-U.S. trade agreement on Monday. Bernd Lange, Chair of the International Trade Committee, stated that a majority of members agreed to halt proceedings until trade relations regain clarity, stability, and legal certainty.
U.S. Issues "Level 4: Do Not Travel" Warning for Lebanon
The State Department raised its travel advisory for Lebanon to the highest level on February 23, citing risks of crime, terrorism, kidnapping, and armed conflict. U.S. citizens are advised against all travel to the country, with certain border regions noted as having particularly high volatility.
Corporate News
OpenAI Forms "Frontier Alliance" with Consulting Giants
OpenAI announced a multi-year partnership with Accenture, BCG, Capgemini, and McKinsey. These firms will assist clients in developing strategies to integrate AI agents into production workflows more rapidly.
Elon Musk Responds to Starlink Price Cuts
Addressing reports that SpaceX is slashing Starlink prices to counter Amazon's upcoming Leo (formerly Project Kuiper) satellite service, Musk stated on social media that the move is aimed at making the service more affordable for lower-income users rather than a direct competitive response to Kuiper.
Novo Nordisk Tumbles as Trial Results Lag Eli Lilly
Novo Nordisk shares plummeted 16.43% after its next-generation weight-loss drug, CagriSema, failed to meet the primary clinical endpoint of non-inferiority against Eli Lilly's Tirzepatide. Conversely, Eli Lilly bucked the market trend, closing up 4.86%.
ASML Discloses Breakthrough in Chip Production Capacity
ASML's CTO of EUV Light Sources, Michael Purvis, revealed a method to increase EUV power from 600W to 1000W. The company aims to boost EUV throughput from 220 to 330 wafers per hour by the end of the decade.
Forex & Commodities
WTI Crude Oil fell 0.29% to $66.29 per barrel on February 23.
COMEX Gold surged 3.29% to $5,247.90/oz, while COMEX Silver gained 6.87% to $88.00/oz. Spot Gold finished at $5,227.75/oz, up 2.42%.
Key Event
Gold Hits New Highs Amid Tariffs and Geopolitical Smoke
The gold market remains dominated by safe-haven buying.
The upcoming U.S.-Iran talks on Thursday are the primary focus; failure to reach a deal could further ignite prices, while progress might trigger a short-term correction. Investors are also eyeing upcoming U.S. PPI data to gauge Fed policy shifts.
Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin (BTC) fell 3.80% over the past 24 hours to $64,941.37, while Ethereum (ETH) dropped 4.42% to $1,865.01.
Solana (SOL) declined 5.32%, and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) plummeted 12.83% to $496.32.
Key Event
Bitcoin Dips Below $65k as Liquidations Surpass $400M
According to CoinGlass, over 135,000 traders were liquidated in the 24 hours leading up to the morning of Feb 23, with total liquidations reaching $455 million.
Meanwhile, Strategy announced the purchase of 592 more Bitcoins at an average price of $67,286, bringing its total holdings to 717,722 BTC.