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China’s A‑share market slid more than 1% across major indices in mid‑day trade, with resource and semiconductor stocks leading declines while pockets of AI and consumer names rallied. Lower turnover and sectoral divergence point to profit‑taking and selective positioning after January gains, rather than a broad capitulation.
Markets roiled after President Trump nominated Kevin Warsh as his choice for Fed chair, sending the dollar higher and triggering a synchronized sell‑off across cryptocurrencies and precious metals. The move exposed thin liquidity and crowded positioning: bitcoin and ethereum fell sharply and metals suffered dramatic one‑day losses as traders repositioned for a potentially hawkish Fed.
A violent repricing in precious metals on January 30 sent spot gold down more than 9% — the biggest daily drop since 1983 — and silver tumbling as much as 36% intraday. Shenzhen’s Shuibei bullion market became the frontline, with frantic selling, opportunistic buying and banks raising risk thresholds as retail investors coped with rapid losses. The shock highlights how speculative excess, thin physical liquidity and cross‑market contagion can quickly imperil even traditionally ‘safe’ assets.
A sudden change in U.S. Fed leadership expectations triggered a dollar rally and mass liquidations that sent gold and silver tumbling from record highs in late January. Forced margin calls, tightened exchange risk controls and algorithmic selling amplified the shock, producing one of the most violent single-day declines in decades while raising questions about leverage and liquidity in commodity markets.
Alipay will start its 2026 Lunar New Year "collect‑fu" campaign on February 3 and is introducing a new "Health Fu" red packet distributed by Ant Group’s mascot, Ant Afu. The addition refreshes the platform’s seasonal engagement playbook and ties holiday promotions to health themes that can support product cross‑selling while smoothing regulatory optics.
China saw a notable rebound in marriage registrations in 2025 after years of decline, driven by procedural reforms, local cash incentives and expanded leave policies. While the rise eases short‑term demographic anxieties, structural barriers—childcare burdens, career penalties for women and changing social preferences—mean higher marriage rates may not translate into a sustained rise in births without deeper reforms.
A surge in lab-grown diamond production centred in Henan has driven global prices down more than 40% since 2022, forcing legacy players like De Beers and branded jewellers to cut prices, run down inventories and rethink strategies. The technological and scale advantages of HPHT production in China have made high-quality synthetic stones widely available and affordable, challenging the economic and symbolic value of natural diamonds.
Kudi has ended its near two‑year 9.9‑yuan unlimited drinks promotion, loosening the low‑price anchor that reshaped China’s coffee market. The move reflects a broader industry shift from aggressive price wars to brand, product and operational refinement amid global coffee supply pressures that make price rises more palatable.
Li Yapeng’s six‑hour Douyin livestream on January 30 generated 160 million yuan in GMV, set a record for a Pu'er tea special, and attracted more than 40 million total views. The event accelerated inventory clearance for the tea sector, boosted Li’s follower base past 10 million, and intersected with his pledge to donate livestream proceeds amid a hospital funding controversy.
Chinese photovoltaic firms are accelerating research and small-scale production work on space-adapted solar cells as interest in orbital power grows, fuelled by large satellite constellation plans and rising demand for continuous compute. Technical resilience, not lowest cost, is now the decisive attribute for space PV, and commercialisation will hinge on in-orbit validation, manufacturing scale-up and falling launch costs.
A recent sharp sell‑off wiped about $381 billion off Microsoft’s market value after Azure growth showed signs of slowing and the company flagged more than $100 billion of capital spending for the year. The market reaction underscores a broader investor scepticism about whether massive AI‑related investments across big tech will be monetised, shifting the emphasis from spending to demonstrable returns.
Jensen Huang said Nvidia never committed to a $100 billion investment in OpenAI and will evaluate any funding opportunity incrementally. The clarification reduces short‑term market uncertainty and signals Nvidia’s preference to remain a broadly neutral supplier rather than take on outsized financial exposure to a single AI lab.
Qianwen has launched a 3 billion yuan Spring Festival campaign, enlisting multiple Alibaba ecosystem services to offer free orders and large cash red packets aimed at turning AI from a chat tool into a transactional assistant. The push comes amid competition from rivals such as Yuanbao, which offered 1 billion yuan in red packets, and marks a broader pivot by Chinese platforms to embed AI into everyday commerce during the high-spend Lunar New Year period.
Oracle intends to raise $45–50 billion in 2026 through equity-linked securities, common stock and a senior bond to expand cloud capacity for large AI customers including OpenAI. The move highlights the enormous capital required for AI-scale data centres and has intensified investor concerns about returns, credit risk and the feasibility of the company’s expansion plans.
The USS Delbert D. Black completed a port call to Eilat on 1 February before departing, a move framed by the US Fifth Fleet as routine but strategically significant. The visit reinforces Washington's maritime presence in the Red Sea corridor, signaling deterrence and reassurance to regional partners amid persistent security risks to shipping.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned that any U.S. attempt to start a war would rapidly spread into a full regional conflict, vowing firm retaliation to any aggression. The statement reinforces Tehran’s deterrent posture, heightens the risk of proxy escalation across the Middle East, and complicates Washington’s military calculus.
China’s Southern Theater Command sent H-6K strategic bombers and fighters to patrol around Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal), signalling Beijing’s assertion of control and showcasing the H-6K’s extended strike and sensing capabilities. The deployment responds to a Philippine move to designate an exercise area covering the shoal and highlights the growing role of long-range Chinese airpower in South China Sea disputes.
Chengdu has released footage and announced completion of multi‑site, multi‑mode trials for the J‑20, indicating a transition from aircraft development to integrated operational testing. The exercises emphasize manned‑unmanned teaming and system‑level capabilities, signaling a maturation of China’s stealth fighter into a networked combat node.
Pakistani authorities say security forces killed 145 militants in Balochistan during a 40‑hour counter‑terror operation after intelligence warned of imminent attacks. Officials reported significant militant, civilian and security‑force casualties, a development that could heighten tensions in a province critical to Pakistan’s economic and strategic interests.
The US released video showing USS Abraham Lincoln conducting underway replenishment in the Arabian Sea on January 27, posted by DVIDS on January 31. The carrier strike group's deployment to the Middle East is framed by CENTCOM as a move to promote regional stability, signalling sustained US naval presence amid heightened maritime risks.
