Nasdaq drops over 300 points, US semiconductor stocks plummet, gold surges violently

Tuesday (February 3), the three major U.S. stock indexes all closed lower, with the Dow down 0.34%, the S&P 500 down 0.84%, and the Nasdaq down 1.43%.

Most large tech stocks declined, including Microsoft and Nvidia, which fell nearly 3%, Facebook dropped over 2%, and Amazon declined close to 2%.

Most chip stocks fell, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down 2.07%. NXP Semiconductors and Micron Technology dropped over 4%, Marvell Technology and Coto Semiconductor fell nearly 4%, Qualcomm and Broadcom declined over 3%, and Advanced Micro Devices dropped over 8% after hours.

Storage stocks continued to strengthen, with Western Digital up over 7%, SanDisk up over 4%, and Seagate Technology up over 2%, all hitting new all-time highs during the day.

Gold stocks performed strongly, with AngloGold up over 6%, Pan American Silver, Goldros Gold, and Kinross Gold up over 5%, Coeur Mining up over 4%, and Barrick Gold up over 2%.

Energy stocks all rose, with ExxonMobil up nearly 4%, Occidental Petroleum up over 3%, and Chevron up over 2%.

Most Chinese concept stocks declined, with the NASDAQ Golden Dragon China Index down 0.94%. Among popular stocks, Bilibili fell over 4%, Bawang Tea dropped nearly 4%, Autohome declined over 3%, Alibaba fell close to 3%, Ares Solar rose nearly 5%, Xpeng Motors increased over 4%, and Li Auto rose nearly 3%.

In popular stocks, traditional retail giant Walmart rose nearly 3%, with its market cap surpassing $1 trillion for the first time.

In precious metals, gold and silver continued to rebound. Spot gold surged during the day, approaching $5,000 per ounce, and closed at $4,945 per ounce. Spot silver’s intraday gains expanded to 12%, closing at $85 per ounce.

International crude oil prices rebounded, with WTI crude futures up 1.72%, closing at $63.21 per barrel. Brent crude futures rose 1.55%, closing at $67.33 per barrel.

In cryptocurrencies, major coins declined again, with Bitcoin falling below $76,000 per coin after previously reaching $79,000. Over the past 24 hours, more than 170,000 traders were liquidated across the market.

According to CCTV News, on February 3 local time, U.S. President Trump signed a government funding bill at the White House, stating that negotiations with Iran are still ongoing this week, and Iran has shown willingness to take action.

Trump said negotiations with Iran are “ongoing” and hopes to reach some kind of result. He declined to disclose where talks with Iran will take place and said, “Meetings with Iran have happened more than once.” Trump added that parties involved previously had opportunities to reach an agreement but failed, and he hopes to avoid a repeat of last year’s “midnight hammer” military action against Iran.

Additionally, according to CCTV News, on February 3 local time, U.S. President Trump signed a government funding bill at the White House Oval Office, ending a partial government shutdown. Earlier that day, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass funding bills for several federal departments for the remainder of this fiscal year, resolving the partial government shutdown that began on January 31.

Recent U.S. economic data shows that manufacturing expanded at the fastest pace since 2022 in January, partly due to the pass-through effects of import tariffs. Some companies are gradually passing on tariff costs related to imported raw materials to the production stage. These cost pressures may continue to be released to consumers over the coming months, potentially boosting inflation at the consumer level. This suggests that inflation could accelerate in the coming months, allowing the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates stable for a period.

Smart money is already in action. Fund managers at BlackRock, Bridgewater Associates, and PIMCO are adjusting their portfolios to prepare for a new wave of inflation. BlackRock funds are shorting U.S. Treasuries and UK gilts to hedge against the failure of rate cut expectations. Bridgewater favors stocks over bonds, and PIMCO is optimistic about U.S. Treasuries with embedded inflation-adjusted yields providing buffer protection.

CME’s latest “Fed Watch” data shows an 8.9% chance that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 25 basis points by March, with a 91.1% chance of holding rates steady. The probability of a cumulative 25 basis point rate cut by April is 22.5%, with a 76.0% chance of no change, and a 1.5% chance of a 50 basis point cut. By June, the probability of a 25 basis point cut rises to 46%.