Traders work on the floor of the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
U.S. markets closed higher overnight. Big Tech stocks mostly rebounded, with Oracle jumping 9.6% and Microsoft advancing 3.1%. That helped the S&P 500 climb 0.47% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jump 0.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 0.04% — but that still lifted it to another record close.
Asian stocks on Tuesday mostly followed Wall Street higher, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 popping more than 2% to outperform its regional peers. Investors are still playing the “Takaichi trade,” expecting Japanese equities to be boosted by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s economic policies.
Despite gains in U.S. and Asian equities, heavy capex and financing concerns still swirl around Big Tech. Alphabet warned in its annual financial report last week that it could be left with “excess capacity” of data centers in a less-than-ideal scenario.
That said, the Google-parent is still planning to raise $20 billion from a U.S. dollar bond sale — with one bond having a 100-year tenor and denominated in sterling — according to people familiar with the matter, who asked to remain unnamed because the details are confidential.
In other tech news, ChatGPT is “back to exceeding 10% monthly growth,” according to CEO Sam Altman’s memo to employees. If the broader industry can enjoy such expansion over the long term, Alphabet is unlikely to face any “excess capacity” issues.
Meanwhile, oil prices dipped slightly on Tuesday even as the European Union plans to sanctions ports in Indonesia and Georgia over their handling of Russian oil, according to a Reuters report.
As European markets open, stocks to look out for include AstraZeneca, Barclays and Kering, all of which report earnings today, as well as Standard Chartered, whose shares fell 3.4% in Hong Kong following the surprise departure of Diego De Giorgi — who was widely tipped to be the next leader of the bank.
— CNBC’s Jennifer Elias and Leonie Kidd contributed to this report.
What you need to know today
‘Impossible’ to move 40% of chip supply chain from Taiwan to the U.S., Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun, the island’s top trade negotiator, told Washington. The comments push back against onshoring targets outlined by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in a CNBC interview in January.
China lashes out at the UK’s expansion on Monday of a scheme for Hong Kong residents to apply for the British National Overseas visa, calling it “despicable.” The move comes a day after Hong Kong sentenced pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison.
U.S. urges ships to stay ‘as far as possible’ away from Iranian waters, in a notice issued Monday by the U.S. Maritime Administration. Boarding attempts, including moves to force commercial vessels into Iranian waters through small boats and helicopters, have occurred as recently as Feb. 3, the agency said.
The S&P 500 rose Monday, notching back-to-back gains. Other major U.S. indexes also climbed, with the Dow hitting a record close. Asia-Pacific markets mostly advanced Tuesday. Shares of Softbank Group spiked as much as 11.95%, while Hanwha Aerospace plunged more than 6%.
[PRO] Two stocks are pivoting from bitcoin mining to supplying AI players with data centers, and could see their shares more than double, according to Morgan Stanley.
And finally…
Gold and silver price swings are powering algo traders and machine-learning funds
As gold and silver prices continue to seesaw, one corner of the hedge-fund industry is mining an opportunity from the huge swings in precious metals.
Commodity trading advisors, also known as trend-following or managed futures funds, are computer-driven investment strategies that trade investment trends across different futures markets, including equities, bonds, currencies, and commodities.
— Hugh Leask