Morning News

# Market Overview

Source: Wall Street News

## Market Overview

U.S. stocks rebounded, led by software stocks and other "victims" of AI panic, with the Nasdaq rising more than 1%. Shares of multiple companies partnering with Anthropic surged: Thomson Reuters closed up over 11%, FactSet nearly 6%, and Salesforce over 4%, topping the Dow Jones components. IBM rose nearly 3% a day after plummeting 13%. Nvidia climbed for three straight sessions ahead of its earnings report, hitting a three-month high. AMD, which secured a massive GPU supply deal with Meta, jumped nearly 9%. Memory chip stocks broadly fell against the market; SanDisk, shorted by Citron, closed down over 4%. The China Concepts Stock Index rose nearly 1.4%, ending an eight-day losing streak and outperforming the broader market, with GDS Holdings surging nearly 7%.

The U.S. Dollar Index rebounded, approaching a four-week high. The Japanese yen fell more than 1% intraday to a two-week low. Offshore yuan broke above 6.88, hitting a nearly three-year high in a week. Bitcoin dipped below $65,000 intraday before paring most losses, rising over 3% from its session low at one point.

U.S. Treasury prices and gold both retreated. Gold turned lower after hitting intraday highs for the month in two consecutive sessions, falling over 2% at one point. Spot silver dropped over 3% intraday, but silver futures rose for five straight sessions. Crude oil failed to rebound ahead of U.S.-Iran talks, turning lower after rising more than 1% intraday.

During Asian trading hours, A-shares opened strong in the Year of the Horse. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.9% on expanded volume, with resource stocks surging across the board. The yuan broke above 6.89. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell over 2%, while Zhipu AI soared 12%.

## Key News

### China

- The State Council: Advancing work related to the development of the silver economy and elderly care services, and reviewing and adopting the "Opinions on Strengthening Grassroots Fire Protection Work."

- China's LPR remains unchanged for nine consecutive months: The 5-year-plus LPR is 3.5% and the 1-year LPR is 3% as of February.

- China's Ministry of Commerce responds to U.S. tariff adjustments: Will decide in due course to adjust countermeasures against the original U.S. tariffs on fentanyl and reciprocal tariffs.

- German media: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will lead a "large business delegation" to visit China, traveling to Beijing and Hangzhou, with "unprecedented meticulous preparations" for the trip.

- Domestic computing power demand continues to boom; Sugon's 2025 non-GAAP net profit rose 30% year-on-year.

### Overseas

- Trump will deliver the State of the Union address at 10 a.m. Beijing time on Wednesday. Markets are closely watching tariffs, cost of living, immigration, and geopolitics.

- Trump's 10% "global tariff" took effect on Tuesday; the timeline for implementing 15% tariffs has not been finalized. Reports: The U.S. is considering imposing a new round of tariffs on about six industries, potentially covering large batteries and other products.

- Reports: Trump plans to use AI to set reference prices for critical minerals, with germanium, gallium, antimony, and tungsten included in the first batch.

- Chicago Fed President: Current inflation is "not good enough"; tariff rulings help cool inflation. Fed Governor Cook: Monetary policy may not be able to address job losses caused by AI. Governor Waller: The Citrini report "exaggerates the potential impact of AI on employment."

- Anthropic upgraded its enterprise-grade AI tools, expanding into investment banking, HR, and other scenarios. Shares of multiple announced partners including FactSet rose sharply, with Thomson Reuters surging over 10%.

- Author of Citrini's "AI Doomsday Report": Market panic exceeded expectations, calling for an "AI tax" to address unemployment. The report suggests Asian tech stocks could be winners, naming MiniMax and Zhipu AI. White House economist: The Citrini report is pure "science fiction."

- AMD secured a $100-billion, five-year deal to supply Meta with 6GW of computing chips, directly competing with Nvidia, and its shares rose nearly 9%.

- SanDisk was shorted by Citron, which called supply tightness a "mirage" and claimed the cycle is peaking; its shares fell 8% at one point.

- Novo Nordisk will sharply cut U.S. prices of its weight-loss blockbuster drug next year, by up to 50%.

## Market Closing

### U.S. & European Stocks

- S&P 500: +0.77% to 6,890.07 points

- Dow Jones Industrial Average: +0.76% to 49,174.50 points

- Nasdaq Composite: +1.05% to 22,863.682 points

- European STOXX 600: +0.23% to 629.14 points

### A-Shares

- Shanghai Composite Index: +0.87% to 4,117.41 points

- Shenzhen Component Index: +1.36% to 14,291.57 points

- ChiNext Index: +0.99% to 3,308.26 points

### Bond Market

### Commodities

# Detailed News Highlights

## Global Headlines

### China

- **State Council Meeting**: Advancing work related to the development of the **silver economy** and elderly care services, and reviewing and adopting the *Opinions on Strengthening Grassroots Firefighting Work*. The meeting noted that China’s silver economy holds great potential. It is necessary to improve supporting measures, strengthen policy implementation, promote the development of elderly care undertakings and industries, and provide strong support for addressing population aging. Efforts should be made to further unlock silver-haired consumption demand, enhance consumption capacity, leverage the guiding role of policies such as consumption subsidies, and foster a number of new scenarios and business formats for silver-haired consumption.

- **China’s LPR Unchanged for Nine Consecutive Months**: The 5-year-plus LPR stands at 3.5% and the 1-year LPR at 3% in February. Regarding this year’s monetary policy, the central bank recently set the tone for “flexible and efficient” use of tools such as RRR cuts and interest rate cuts. “Flexible” means monetary policy tools will be deployed in a timely manner based on changes in internal and external environments and economic development needs. “Efficient” means when using tools like RRR and interest rate cuts, more consideration should be given to policy effectiveness and targeting—stepping up support for economic growth while strengthening prevention of risks such as idle capital circulation and local government debt.

- **China’s MOFCOM Responds to U.S. Tariff Adjustments**: Will decide in due course to adjust countermeasures against the original U.S. tariffs on fentanyl and reciprocal tariffs. The Ministry of Commerce stated that the U.S. has stopped imposing tariffs levied under the *International Emergency Economic Powers Act* and instead imposed a 10% global import surcharge under Section 122 of the *Trade Act of 1974*. China is closely monitoring and comprehensively assessing relevant U.S. measures, and will decide in due course to adjust countermeasures against the original U.S. fentanyl tariffs and reciprocal tariffs as appropriate. China reserves the right to take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

- **“Unprecedented Meticulous Preparations”! German Media: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to Lead “Large Business Delegation” to China, Visiting Beijing and Hangzhou**. According to *Global Times*, Merz will lead a “large business delegation” comprising about 30 executives from companies including Volkswagen and Siemens to visit China from February 25 to 26, marking his first trip to China. German media reported that Merz has made “unprecedented meticulous preparations” for the visit, aiming to strengthen economic and trade cooperation with China and strike a balance between national interests and value positions to respond to changes in the international situation and uncertainties in China-U.S. relations.

- **Domestic Computing Power Demand Booms; Sugon’s 2025 Non-GAAP Net Profit Up 30% YoY**. Sugon achieved revenue of 14.97 billion yuan in 2025, up 13.86% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 2.113 billion yuan, up 10.54% year-on-year. Notably, non-GAAP net profit reached 1.785 billion yuan, up 30.17% year-on-year—growth significantly higher than overall net profit, indicating continuously strengthening endogenous growth momentum in core businesses. The growth was mainly driven by the company’s optimized product structure and improved operational efficiency.

### Overseas

- **High-Stakes State of the Union Address Ahead of U.S. Election; Markets Focus on Trump, Tariffs, Cost of Living, Immigration, Geopolitics**. Trump will deliver the State of the Union address at 10 a.m. Beijing time on Wednesday. Core topics include new policies to address high living costs, such as requiring tech giants to bear AI power costs and reforming healthcare subsidies. After the Supreme Court struck down his core tariff policy, markets are closely watching trade alternatives, while military buildups in the Middle East have heightened geopolitical concerns.

- **Trump’s 10% “Global Tariff” Takes Effect Tuesday; Timeline for 15% Tariffs Not Finalized**. The White House used Section 122 of the *Trade Act* to bypass Congress and extend the tariff framework for 150 days. Reports suggest the rate could be further raised to 15%. Uncertainty has triggered global shocks: the EU and India have suspended trade talks, and 60% of U.S. citizens oppose the tariffs. Analysts note that Sections 301 and 232—used to reinstate tariffs—offer less flexibility than the previous emergency authority tools, and related investigations could take months to complete.

- **Report: U.S. Considers New Round of Tariffs on About Six Industries, Potentially Covering Large Batteries**. The Trump administration, under Section 232, is shifting tariffs to a “national security” path that is harder to overturn, seeking to expand the scope and sustainability of tariffs beyond the 15% global tariff. The U.S. is preparing to launch Section 232 investigations into six industries including batteries and chemicals, with nine more industries such as semiconductors and robotics on the watchlist.

- **U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Emergency Tariffs, but Retailers Say: Don’t Expect Price Cuts**. While the Supreme Court’s ruling favored businesses, the tax refund process is complex and lengthy (potentially years). Companies plan to use refunds to offset costs rather than cut prices, meaning consumers will unlikely benefit. Meanwhile, Trump’s new temporary tariffs caused the effective tax rate to briefly fall before rebounding quickly to 13.7%, dashing expectations of a consumption recovery.

- **Report: Trump Plans to Use AI to Set Reference Prices for Critical Minerals; Germanium, Gallium, Antimony, Tungsten Included in First Batch**. The Trump administration plans to use the Pentagon’s AI project (OPEN) to set reference prices for critical minerals and build a global metal trading bloc. The mechanism will use AI models to calculate costs, supplemented by adjustable tariffs to secure pricing power. Cowork’s AI agents offer multiple plugins; enterprise clients can integrate agents into common business tools such as Gmail, DocuSign, FactSet, WordPress, and LegalZoom, and deploy customizable plugins across financial analysis, equity research, private equity, wealth management, engineering, and HR. PwC has reached an agreement with Anthropic to accelerate enterprise AI plugin deployment in highly regulated industries. Shares of partners including FactSet surged, with Thomson Reuters rising as much as 14%. Anthropic executives said recent stock drops were an overreaction or misinterpretation; the company’s AI models help businesses grow rather than replace existing operations. No large-scale AI-driven job displacement has been observed, though impacts will vary by role, with execution-focused positions a concern.

- **“Official Rebuttal”: White House Economist Calls Citrini’s AI Risk Report Pure “Science Fiction”**. Pierre Yared, Acting Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, dismissed Citrini Research’s report on AI causing mass unemployment and dragging down the stock market as “science fiction,” saying it violates basic economic principles. Yared stated that any innovation brings “some volatility and disruption,” which is natural. He focuses on “research findings” rather than “doomsday scenarios in science fiction.”

- **Author of Citrini’s “AI Doomsday Report” Speaks Out: Market Panic Exceeds Expectations, Calls for “AI Tax” to Address Unemployment**. A report on AI disruption triggered a global sell-off, with IBM plummeting 13% in a single day—the most in 25 years. Report author Shah said the market reaction was “far beyond expectations” and warned white-collar jobs could fall by 5% in the next 18 months, calling for governments to tax AI to curb the negative feedback loop of unemployment—if job losses outpace expectations, the entire consumer economy risks collapse. He noted, “Everyone is now fully invested in AI; there are not many incremental buyers left.”

- **“AI Doomsday” Report Suggests Asian Tech Stocks Could Be Winners; Author Names MiniMax and Zhipu**. Citrini’s report triggered a sell-off in U.S. software stocks but unexpectedly boosted Asian tech stocks, with the correlation between U.S. and Asian tech stocks falling to a seven-year low. The report’s author emphasized that semiconductors, data centers, and large model companies are core beneficiaries of the current AI trade, noting that China’s MiniMax and Zhipu have doubled in price this month, and naming TSMC, Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix.

- **AMD Deepens Ties with Meta; $100B Deal Sealed, Five-Year Long-Term Contract to Compete with Nvidia**. Meta and AMD have reached a five-year, $100-billion strategic agreement to purchase 6 gigawatts (GW) of computing chips and deeply customize the MI450 processor. Meta will receive warrants in exchange for the purchase, potentially holding up to 10% of AMD’s shares. The move aims to secure computing power supply through equity ties and reduce reliance on Nvidia, marking AI giants’ acceleration of the global computing power race via deep customization and supply chain restructuring.

- **How Are Newly Launched ChatGPT Ads Performing? ChatGPT’s Commercial Ad Debut “Flops”: Experience Called Worse Than Early Google!** ChatGPT offers four ad formats for major advertisers, from brand exposure to closed-loop transactions. While click-through rates are decent, returns are poor, with functional flaws such as lack of performance data and no CRM integration. Experts expect a turnaround in 6–12 months, but it will take time to challenge Google’s dominance.

- **SanDisk Plunges! Short Seller Citron Calls Supply Tightness a “Mirage,” Says Cycle Is Peaking**. SanDisk fell as much as 8%. Citron’s short thesis rests on three factors: competition from Samsung, recent share reduction by long-term investor Western Digital, and historical patterns of cycle peaks. Citron noted that Samsung has stated it will not sell products at gross margins below 50% and is entering SanDisk’s core SSD market with cutting-edge chips. Current capacity is twice the 2018 peak; once deployed, the supply-demand balance could reverse “in a single earnings call.” SanDisk should not be priced like Nvidia, Citron argued—“Nvidia has a moat; SanDisk sells commodities.”

- **Novo Nordisk to Slash U.S. Prices of Weight-Loss Blockbuster by Up to 50% Next Year**. Novo Nordisk announced it will lower the U.S. monthly list price of its semaglutide drug series to a unified $675, a reduction of up to 50%, effective January next year, to counter competition from Eli Lilly and market pressure. The price cuts mainly benefit enrollees in high-deductible plans and are unrelated to Medicare negotiation discounts. Following the announcement, Novo Nordisk’s U.S. shares closed down 3.6%, after falling more than 16% on Monday due to poor new drug trial data.

## Selected Research Reports

- **Overvalued Net Assets, Redemption Restrictions! Is the Current “PE Private Credit Crisis” a New “Subprime Crisis”?** BDC discounts hit post-pandemic highs; Blue Owl imposes redemption limits, spreading market panic. Deutsche Bank noted that opacity and exposure to the software sector have driven sharp declines in large listed private equity stocks, but conditions for systemic risk are not yet in place. Investors should closely monitor four key indicators including credit spreads and regulatory changes, wary of discounts evolving from sentiment into a fatal hard constraint on the financing chain.

# Domestic Macro

**Huang Kunming, Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee: Maximize deregulation for technological innovation and market exploration to let the low-altitude economy take off, autonomous driving run, and embodied intelligence be deployed**. Huang stated that deepening reform is needed to strengthen institutional supply for new tracks and sectors, focusing on solving the problem of "old rules governing new-quality productive forces." He emphasized maximizing deregulation for technological innovation and market exploration to enable the low-altitude economy to take off, autonomous driving to run, and embodied intelligence to be deployed, ensuring both "vibrant liberalization" and "effective regulation."

**Hong Kong SAR Government strongly protests Panama's forced takeover of Li Ka-shing's ports: disregarding facts and breaching trust!** According to *Nikkei Asia*, on February 24, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government expressed strong dissatisfaction and condemnation over the Panamanian government's forced takeover of two Hutchison Ports and revocation of their operating rights. The Panamanian government forcibly entered the Balboa and Cristóbal container terminals operated by Panama Ports Company (PPC), a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings, seized administrative and operational control, and barred PPC representatives from the facilities. The incident caused CK Hutchison's share price to drop by more than 2.6%.

# Domestic Companies/Industries

**Optical communications surge across the board! 6G breakthroughs and surging AI computing power accelerate industry growth.** A Peking University team achieved seamless cross-network integration between fiber-optic and wireless communication systems, breaking three world records for data transmission rates. Meanwhile, orders for AI optical modules from leading domestic companies are fully booked through Q4 2026, with production lines operating at full capacity. Guotou Securities believes value in the optical communications industry chain is rapidly concentrating upstream in silicon photonic chips, high-performance lasers, and midstream in advanced packaging.

**90% of Silver LOF investors to receive full compensation; how much will the fund company pay?** According to *Nikkei Asia*, in response to valuation adjustments triggered by extreme market conditions for the Silver LOF, Guotou RuiYin launched a special compensation plan, with over 90% of investors set to receive full compensation. Based on announcements from controlling shareholder Guotou Capital, the maximum compensation amount is approximately 433 million yuan, exceeding the company's full-year 2024 net profit of 376 million yuan, fully demonstrating shareholder support and commitment to investor protection.

**Lei Jun: Xiaomi to focus on core underlying technologies including chips, AI, and operating systems over the next five years.** Over the past five years, Xiaomi has entered the deep waters of "hardcore technology," investing 100 billion yuan in R&D and achieving breakthroughs in core technologies such as self-developed chips. At a private enterprise symposium, Lei Jun stated that Xiaomi's goals align closely with the spirit of the 15th Five-Year Plan. The company plans to focus on breakthroughs in core underlying technologies including chips, AI, and operating systems over the next five years.

# Overseas Macro

**U.S. ramps up maximum pressure; Iran claims readiness for war; Trump "curious" why Iran won't yield.** According to *Global Times*, a new round of U.S.-Iran negotiations is scheduled for February 26 in Geneva. U.S. outlet Axios reports this round of diplomatic talks may be "the U.S.'s final chance for Iran before launching large-scale military action." U.S. media note Trump favors initial strikes within days, followed by larger-scale military action in the coming months to force Iran to "yield" and reach an agreement. Iran has responded that any attack will be considered an act of aggression and will be met with a strong response.

**U.S. labor market sees moderate recovery; ADP weekly average new jobs reach 12,750, improving for four consecutive weeks.** Data released February 24 shows that in the four weeks ending February 7, U.S. private employers added an average of 12,750 jobs per week, improving for the fourth consecutive week and climbing steadily from a low of 4,250 in early January. However, current growth remains less than two-thirds of the late-November 2025 peak of 17,000–20,000 jobs per week, indicating the employment recovery has not fully reversed previous declines.

**JPMorgan CEO: U.S. credit environment shows 2008-like signs; AI-related software sector faces default wave risk.** JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warned that current high asset prices and blind profit-chasing remind him of the pre-2008 financial crisis. A reversal in the credit cycle will trigger an unexpected wave of defaults, with the AI-disrupted software sector likely to be the hardest hit. He criticized some institutions for "doing stupid things" to pursue profits, exacerbating risks, while avoiding questions about succession.

**Yen plunges; Kishida expresses concern over BOJ rate hike.** Kishida pressures BOJ against rate hikes, triggering market volatility! Despite the central bank's attempts to downplay political interference, the news sharply dampened rate hike expectations, causing the yen to plummet. The USD/JPY rose by over 1%, and government bond yields fell further. The intensifying standoff between the Kishida government and the BOJ adds new uncertainty to Japan's monetary policy direction.

# Overseas Companies

**Cook delivers on $600 billion pledge: Apple accelerates AI server production in Houston; Mac mini to be "Made in USA" for the first time.** On February 24, Apple announced it will launch U.S. manufacturing of the Mac mini in Houston later this year and expand AI server production capacity. Since last year's commitment... (original text incomplete)

# Commentary

Research institutions estimate China's elderly care industry market size reached approximately 12 trillion yuan in 2023, and is expected to exceed 20 trillion yuan by 2027. Elderly care services, covering the elderly's daily needs, medical services, life care, and learning and entertainment, feature wide coverage, a long industrial chain, and close alignment with elderly needs. As a key segment of China's elderly care market, it boasts broad development prospects. Driven by both policy and market forces, elderly care services face new opportunities.

# Industry Highlights

1. **Aerospace**: According to Xinhua News Agency, to more conveniently deploy satellite networks dedicated to AI data centers, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk envisions launching satellites from the Moon to Earth orbit via electromagnetic catapults. French science website *Futura Sciences* reports Musk intends to build a giant electromagnetic catapult and satellite assembly plant on the Moon, with the former launching satellites into Earth orbit. The report notes Musk's lunar satellite launch concept is theoretically viable: the Moon's low gravity, lack of atmosphere, and abundant solar energy enable far higher launch efficiency than Earth, simplifying large satellite constellation deployment and avoiding crowded low-Earth orbit with spacecraft and debris.

2. **Semiconductors**: According to *Beijing Daily*, on February 23, Qiu Chenguang, a researcher at Peking University's School of Electronics, announced his team has creatively fabricated the smallest and lowest-power ferroelectric transistor to date, which could provide core device support for improving AI chip computing power and energy efficiency. Qiu stated this technology breaks the physical limits of traditional ferroelectric transistors, reducing energy consumption by an order of magnitude compared to the best international levels. He explained that nano-gate ferroelectric transistors with ultra-low operating voltage and power consumption not only offer core device solutions for building high-efficiency data centers but also lay a key technological foundation for developing next-generation high-computing-power AI chips.

3. **Diamonds**: According to *Securities Times*, on February 23, Akash Systems announced the global first delivery of NVIDIA GPU servers equipped with Diamond Cooling technology to Indian sovereign cloud service provider NxtGen AI Pvt Ltd. Based on the NVIDIA H200 platform, these products mark the world's first commercial application of "diamond thermal conductivity technology" in AI server systems, achieving a material-level innovation breakthrough.

4. **Satellite Internet**: According to *Securities Times* on February 24, China Satellite Network Group (China SatNet) recently launched two key procurement initiatives to accelerate the satellite internet industry's rollout, focusing on terminal hardware and intelligent infrastructure. The first is procurement of 0.45m equivalent aperture phased-array broadband terminals, now in supplier invitation negotiations, primarily implemented in Beijing, Xi'an, and other regions. The second is a public tender for AI-focused digital model training capacity construction, with full funding secured.

Previous China SatNet Network Application Research Institute tenders show winning bidders for 0.45m phased-array broadband terminal antennas include Feisi Communication, Aerospace Star, Shenzhou Weitong, and Mengsheng Technology, with quotes ranging from 179,000 to 222,000 yuan per unit, indicating the industry chain has mass production and delivery capabilities. Market participants expect explosive demand for such terminals as low-orbit broadband communication satellite constellations advance, with military/emergency, IoT, and consumer broadband applications driving growth in the terminal sector.

5. **Quantum Computing**: According to *China Securities Journal*, on February 24, the Anhui Provincial Engineering Research Center for Quantum Computing announced China's first independently developed quantum computer operating system, "Origin Sirius," is now available for online download. As the world's first open-download quantum computer operating system, it will effectively lower development barriers and accelerate the construction of China's independent quantum computing ecosystem.

6. **Vocational Education**: According to the Ministry of Education website, the ministry recently issued the *Opinions on Deepening Reforms of Key Teaching Elements in Vocational Education*, comprehensively deploying reforms across majors, curricula, textbooks, teachers, and internships across regions and vocational schools. The reforms aim to shift talent cultivation from traditional knowledge transmission to comprehensive capability improvement, promote systemic upgrading of vocational education, achieve high-level school-running capabilities and high-quality industry-education integration, and foster a high-skilled talent cultivation ecosystem for vocational education.

# Today's News Preview

- Release of Hong Kong's new fiscal budget

- Eurozone January CPI data

- Speeches by Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin and Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President Alberto Musalem

- NVIDIA earnings report

- Apple's 2026 Annual General Meeting

- U.S. weekly EIA crude oil inventory changes

# Risk Warning and Disclaimer

The market involves risks, and investments require caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not consider the specific investment objectives, financial situations, or needs of individual users. Users should assess whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article align with their specific circumstances. Investment decisions based on this article are made at the user's own risk.