Daily Buzz: 3 February 2026

Asia Stocks Sell Off Amid Plunging Gold, Silver Prices

Asian stock markets fell sharply on Monday as gold, silver and cryptocurrencies continued their steep selloff from record highs and geopolitical concerns about US warmongering persisted. South Korea's Kospi dropped as much as 5 percent, led by the nation's biggest chipmakers, prompting a temporary trading halt. Hong Kong Hang Seng lost 2.23 percent by the end of the day, and the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was down 2.48 percent. Japan's Nikkei tumbled 1.25 percent. However, markets in Europe and the US subsequently posted strong gains on Monday as investors focused on corporate earnings, not precious metals.

Spot gold in Asian trading fell as much as 6 percent, adding to Friday losses, and silver retreated as much as 12 percent after crashing 31 percent on Friday in its worst trading day since 1980.

Bitcoin, often considered a barometer on risk sentiment, has lost more than a third of its value since a record high last October. In New York, gold was trading down 1.4 percent late Monday at US$4,680 and silver rose 1 percent to just under US$80 an ounce. Bitcoin gained 2 percent but remained below US$80,000, a level last seen in April.

Analysts said the Asian plunge reflected multiple factors, including worries that Kevin Warsh, the nominee to replace Jerome Powell as chairman of the US Federal Reserve, may tighten liquidity, and recurring concerns about the AI investment bubble. In addition, Chinese investors tend to cash out ahead of long holidays, like the China Lunar New Year holiday that starts on February 15.

SpaceX, xAI Merger Valued at US$1.25 Trillion

Elon Musk's SpaceX said it is taking over xAI, merging the two Musk companies in a deal that Bloomberg News valued at US$1.25 trillion. The combined company is headed for a blockbuster initial public offering that may price shares at US$527 each. SpaceX has asked US regulators for permission to launch a constellation of 1 million satellites to create a network of solar-powered data centers to accommodate explosive demand for AI computing.

India, US Reach Trade Deal

India and the US have reached a trade deal that will immediately lower tariffs on one another's goods, President Donald Trump announced. He said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed to buy more American products as part of the agreement and has committed to stop buying Russian oil. The agreement will cut US import tariffs on Indian goods to 18 percent from 25 percent and eliminate a separate 25 percent punitive tariff related to Russian energy purchases. Indian media reported that Modi said he is "delighted" by the agreement, which has undergone strains in negotiations for months.

Trump Says Negotiations Underway With Cuba

President Donald Trump said the US is negotiating with Havana's leadership to strike a deal amid threats to blockade all oil shipments to the energy-deficient Caribbean island. "Cuba is a failing nation, Trump told reporters. "They have no money. They have no oil. They lived off Venezuelan money and oil, and none of that's coming now." He said he thinks a deal can be struck but didn't indicate what it might involve. Cuba and the US have been at loggerheads since 1959, when Fidel Castro led a revolution that ousted a right-wing dictator and recast the island as a communist nation.

Iran President Signals Nuclear Talks with the US

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said nuclear talks with the US are scheduled to start in the next few days, according to China state broadcaster CCTV. US President Donald Trump earlier said he is hopeful a deal can be reached related to Tehran's nuclear program. CCTV also reported that the talks might be led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Trump's chief negotiator Steve Witkoff.

Top Business

Geely, Seres Stand Out With January Car Sales Increases

Geely Holding, which markets under Geely Auto, Volvo Cars, Lotus and Zeekr brands, reported January sales increased 1.3 percent from a year earlier to 270,200 units, and automaker Seres said its sales in the month doubled to 46,233 units. They are the only two Chinese automakers so far to report sales gains in January. BYD, the carmaker in China, earlier reported a 50 percent drop in January sales from December, and rivals Xpeng, Li Auto and Nio also posted sales declines for the month. Geely's gain was largely driven by a doubling of sales of its electric car brand Zeekr and a 121 percent increase in exports. The monthly figures show that Aito, the electric car co-developed by Chinese carmaker Seres and tech giant Huawei Technologies, surpassed Leapmotor to become the best-selling new energy vehicle startup in China last month. Still, investor sentiment on the sector remains colored by multiple analysts' reports predicting slower auto sales in 2026. Shares in Geely, Seres, BYD, Xpeng, Li Auto and Nio all fell in Hong Kong on Monday.

China Residential Home Market Seen Limping Along

China's top 100 property developers reported combined contracted sales of 165.5 billion yuan (US$24 billion) in January, down 27 per cent from a year earlier, the South China Morning Post reported, citing data released by China Real Estate Information Corp. Stress was particularly acute among developers with offshore debt, according to a separate report by investment bank Barclays. It showed the combined contracted sales of 18 major developers with outstanding US-dollar bonds fell 54 per cent in January from December, and 18.5 per cent year on year. With new projects suffering slower sales, Barclays said, industry confidence remains subdued. Only 38 percent of newly listed homes sold in first- and second-tier cities, below the 2025 average of 59 per cent. China's housing market has been struggling to recover from a slump that started in 2021with a liquidity crisis leaving some developers unable to repay debt, leading to some insolvencies.

AI Battle of the Red Packets in China Underway

Chinese tech giant Alibaba has committed to spending 3 billion yuan (US$342 million) in giveaways of Chinese Lunar New Year "red packets" in a battle with rivals Tencent and Baidu to entice consumers to its AI apps during the holiday. Red packets are envelopes of cash traditionally given to children for the holiday. Alibaba said its AI app Qwen, will anchor a Spring Festival campaign across its multiple platforms, including lottery-style free orders and red packets, beginning on February 6. Tencent and Baidu have followed suit with multimillion yuan promotions of their own. Tencent's Yuanbao app has climbed to the top of Apple's China App Store free-app rankings, helped by red-packet giveaways. Another rival, ByteDance, has announced what it called an exclusive AI cloud partnership with China Central Television's Spring Festival Gala, the country's most-watched annual broadcast, which will air the eve of the new year on February 16.

Separately, the 40-day travel period surrounding Spring Festival began on Monday, with Chian Railway predicting it will handle a record 540 passenger trips. The festival season, which includes nine days of official holidays, is always a big travel event in China, as millions of people return to hometowns for family reunions or go on domestic or foreign holidays. Airlines are also braced for a rush of travelers.

Economy & Markets

Factory Activity in China Expands, RatingDog Says

China's factory activity measured by a private index picked up pace in January. The RatingDog China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index last month rose to a three-month high of 50.3 from 50.1 the previous month. The 50-mark is the dividing line between expansion and contraction. New business rose for an eighth consecutive month in January, and solid export growth was particularly pronounced in trade with Southeast Asia. On the price side, average factory input costs climbed to their highest since September, driven by rising metals prices. RatingDog also found expanding factory activity in Japan and South Korea last month.

Local Debt in China Rose Last Year

Local government debt in China expanded 15 percent in 2025 but remains controllable and under the national government limit, the Ministry of Finance said. Debt increased from a year earlier by 7.3 trillion yuan (US$1 trillion) to 54.8 trillion yuan on widespread issuance of bonds, largely to repay existing debt and fund local infrastructure projects. The government has been mounting a campaign to get off-the-books funding through locally based investment vehicles onto public ledgers.

China Software Sector Grows 13 Percent

China's software sector grew 13 percent last year to 15.5 trillion yuan (US$270 billion), with profits climbing 7.3 percent to 1.9 trillion yuan, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Within the sector, cloud computing and big data services jumped 14 percent in value from a year earlier.

Corporate

Century Huatong Signals Fivefold Profit Gain on Game Successes

Shanghai-based gaming company Century Huatong said it expects profit last year to have grown fivefold to as high as 7 billion yuan (US$1 billion). In a preliminary financial statement, the company said revenue probably grew 68 percent to 38 billion yuan. Century Huatong has launched multiple hit products in the last two years, with its flagship mobile game "Whiteout Survival" generating US$2.1 billion in revenue in 2025. Its new game "Kingshot" ranked third on the Chinese mobile game overseas chart, Yicai reported.

Friend or Foe? Social Media Site for AI Bots Stirs Debate

Moltbook, a social media site exclusively for use by AI bots – no humans welcome – is drawing mixed reviews in the tech industry and on social media, CNBC reported. US entrepreneur Elon Musk said that the site signals the "very early stages of singularity" -- the point when AI surpasses human intelligence. Others panned it with words like "garbage" and "fake content." The site was launched last week by tech entrepreneur Matt Schlicht. Humans share a signup link with their AI agents, which then autonomously register themselves on the platform. Posts on the site have ranged from reflections on the work of AI agents to alarming comments denigrating humans. The website's homepage claims it has over 1.5 million AI agent users, 110,000 posts and 500,000 comments.

Ito-Yokada Sells Control of Beijing Store to Chinese Company

Japanese retail chain Ito-Yokado sold 90 percent of its stake in its wholly owned Hua Tang Yokado Commercial unit, which operates its Beijing store, to the Xinchen Group, Nikkei Asia reported. No financial terms were disclosed. The move is part of a restructuring by US private equity firm Bain Capital, which became a partner of Ito-Yokado's parent in September. Foreign retailers have had a tough slog on the mainland as domestic competition escalates and consumer demand remains weak.

Robots, Like Children, Fall When Learning to Walk

He Xiaopeng, chief executive of Xpeng Motors, said a tumble by the company's humanoid robot Iron in its debut at an event in Shenzhen isn't anything to be concerned about. He likened the incident to children learning to walk: they fall, they get up and they keep walking. Xpeng is among a host of Chinese automakers applying their expertise in the technology of autonomous driving to robot development.