Markets & Headlines - 2/22/25

Markets

Markets The US market plummeted due to concerns over the economy. Starting with $WMT reporting gloomy guidance, hinting at pressure on even the most price-sensitive corners of the economy. The Michigan survey reported a similar decline in consumer sentiment and a pessimistic inflation outlook. $SPX steadily fell throughout the trading session. Meanwhile, Trump doubled down on his stance to levy “interesting” tariffs. Optimism in China is brewing, as AI comes into the belated limelight. $HSI rose 4%.

Headlines

• ‘The tariffing is going to be interesting’: Donald Trump caps off a week of tariff threats

Trump re-confirmed the incoming tariffs.

• Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq sink as consumers start to sour on US economy

Michigan Consumer Sentiment index saw a sharp decline in Feb, to 64.7 compared to 71.7 in Jan.

• SEC commissioner Hester Peirce promises ‘more clarity’ for crypto industry

• Dow drops 700 points for worst day of 2025 so far on new fears about economic growth: Live updates

Michigan 5-year inflation outlook was 3.5%, the highest since 1995.

• Beijing embraces DeepSeek to lead AI adoption as it looks for new growth drivers

iShares MSCI China ETF($MCHI) rose 19% YTD. Xi greeting DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng was a clear signal.

• U.S. could cut Ukraine’s access to Starlink internet services over minerals, say sources

The meeting between Zelenskyy and Keith Kellogg involved threats to shutoff Starlink if a deal on minerals were not reached. The world has been and will be cruel …

• Shortage of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Ozempic drugs is resolved, FDA says

Shares of Hims & Hers ($HIMS) offering compounded Wegovy and Ozempic plummeted 26%.

• Google, Meta execs blast Europe over strict AI regulation as Big Tech ups the ante

Says EU regulation on AI came about even before ChatGPT was launched.

• NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang explains how the stock market got it wrong on DeepSeek

Says it’s not simply pre-training, then inference. In fact there will continue to be post-training, which is where the model learns to solve problems.

• DDN’s Beyong Artificial video featuring Jensen Huang

• Trump administration pushes out top China export policy official, sources say

They must have been at odds.

• Trump’s 10% oil tariff could cost foreign producers $10 billion annually, Goldman Sachs says