Bitget UEX Daily Report | Tariff risks reignite; AI concerns escalate; Precious metals surge (February 24, 2026)

# 1. Hot News

Federal Reserve Dynamics

Federal Reserve Governor Waller Adjusts Dovish Stance

• Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller pointed out the significant contradictions in U.S. economic data, slightly adjusting his previously dovish stance against interest rate cuts.
• January's non-farm payrolls were strong, exceeding expectations, and he has voted against rate cuts twice in the past six months; if February's employment data continues to perform well, it will support a pause in rate cuts. Market impact: Increased uncertainty regarding the rate cut path may support the dollar in the short term but exacerbate stock market volatility; investors need to pay attention to subsequent employment data for validation.

International Commodities

Precious Metals Prices Strongly Break Key Levels

• Spot gold broke through $5,200 per ounce, and spot silver briefly touched $89 per ounce, with the precious metals sector overall strengthening.
• UBS expects the Federal Reserve to cut rates twice before the end of September, combined with geopolitical risks and supply shortages, gold prices may reach $6,200 by mid-year. Market impact: Uncertainty over tariffs and safe-haven demand resonate, making precious metals a core tool for investors to hedge against inflation and policy risks.

Macroeconomic Policy

Trump's Tariff Threats Escalate, Trade Frictions Resurface

• Trump warned that any country "playing tricks" on trade agreements will face higher tariffs and is considering imposing national security tariffs on six major industries, with a new 15% global tariff effective today.
• The EU has suspended the vote to approve the EU-U.S. trade agreement; Democrats have introduced a bill to demand a refund of tariff revenues; Trump has signaled a de-escalation in the U.S.-Iran situation, leaning more towards reaching an agreement rather than war.
• Additional dynamics: Trump's "Peace Committee" is exploring the introduction of a dollar-pegged stablecoin for Gaza to reshape the economy. Market impact: Global trade outlook adds uncertainty, increasing corporate cost pressures and expectations for supply chain adjustments, posing short-term risks to risk assets.

# 2. Market Review

Commodity & Forex Performance

• Spot Gold: Slightly down about 0.01%, still maintaining above $5,200
• Spot Silver: Down about 0.71%, touching $87.65
• WTI Crude Oil: Slightly down 0.1% to $71.04
• Dollar Index: Slightly down 0.03% to 97.7

Cryptocurrency Performance

• BTC: Down 3.22%, retracing to test support at $63,891
• ETH: Down 3.93%, following risk assets down to around $1,837
• Total Cryptocurrency Market Cap: Down about 2.4% to $2.31 trillion, with market risk aversion dominating
• Market Liquidation Situation: $514 million in long positions liquidated in 24 hours, total liquidation amount exceeding $611 million

U.S. Stock Index Performance

• Dow Jones: Down 1.66%, with IBM's sharp decline dragging down the index
• S&P 500: Down 1.04%, impacted by both tariffs and AI concerns
• Nasdaq: Down 1.13%, with the tech sector being the main drag

Tech Giants Dynamics

• Apple (AAPL): Up 0.6%, new product launch imminent
• Microsoft (MSFT): Down over 3.2%, AI horror stories spreading
• Google (GOOG): Down over 1.1%, overall tech adjustment
• Amazon (AMZN): Down over 2.3%, facing tariff and competitive pressures
• Meta (META): Down over 2%, following the sector
• NVIDIA (NVDA): Up 0.91%, boosted by shipment expectations
• Tesla (TSLA): Down over 3%, market risk appetite declines

Core Reason: The resurgence of tariff risks combined with the Citrini "2028 Smart Crisis" report and the impact of Anthropic's COBOL tool triggered panic selling in AI-related sectors.

Sector Movement Observation

Gold Mining Sector up over 6%

• Representative stocks: Kinross Gold (KGC) up over 6%, AngloGold Ashanti (AU) up over 6%
• Driving factors: Significant rise in gold prices, with safe-haven funds concentrating

Payment and Fintech Sector down over 5%

• Representative stocks: American Express (AXP) down over 7%, Visa and Mastercard hit recent largest single-day declines
• Driving factors: AI report raises concerns about large-scale replacement of white-collar jobs

Weight Loss Drug Concept Sector shows significant divergence

• Representative stocks: Novo Nordisk (NVO) down 16.43%, Eli Lilly (LLY) up 4.86%
• Driving factors: CagriSema clinical trial did not meet non-inferiority endpoints, highlighting Eli Lilly's competitive advantage

# 3. In-Depth Stock Analysis

1. IBM Corp - AI Tools Impact Core Legacy Business

Event Overview: Anthropic announced that its AI programming tool can modernize COBOL language, directly threatening IBM's core mainframe business, leading to a more than 13% drop in IBM's stock price on Monday. Market Interpretation: Institutions generally believe that AI is accelerating the replacement of traditional systems, and IBM is facing painful transformation. Investment Insight: Legacy tech companies need to accelerate AI integration, or they risk being surpassed by emerging players; it is recommended to continuously track their cloud and AI business progress.

2. Hims & Hers Health - Q1 Guidance Below Expectations

Event Overview: HIMS reported Q4 2025 revenue of $617.8 million, a 28% year-over-year increase, with full-year revenue of $2.3476 billion, a 59% increase, but adjusted EPS of $0.08 fell short of last year's figures, and Q1 revenue guidance was disappointing, leading to an over 8% drop in after-hours trading. Market Interpretation: Analysts pointed out signs of slowing growth momentum in telemedicine. Investment Insight: The long-term trend in digital health remains unchanged, but short-term guidance risks should be monitored; opportunities may arise during valuation corrections.

3. Novo Nordisk - Next-Generation Weight Loss Drug Clinical Failure

Event Overview: NVO's next-generation product CagriSema did not achieve non-inferiority endpoints compared to Eli Lilly's tirzepatide, resulting in a 16.43% drop in stock price; Eli Lilly, on the other hand, rose nearly 5%. Market Interpretation: The market further strengthens Eli Lilly's leading position in obesity treatment. Investment Insight: Competition in the weight loss drug sector is intensifying; it is advisable to prioritize companies with superior clinical data; NVO needs to accelerate the development of new pipelines to cope with pressure.

4. PayPal Holdings - Acquisition Rumors Provide Valuation Support

Event Overview: After a roughly 46% drop in stock price over the past year, PayPal has attracted interest from potential acquirers, including major competitors considering a full acquisition, triggering a more than 5% rise after hitting a trading halt during the day, with a market cap of about $38.4 billion. Market Interpretation: Institutions view potential M&A as an important catalyst for value reassessment. Investment Insight: The current valuation of payment giants is low, presenting a potential buying opportunity; the long-term trend of digital payments will continue.

5. ASML Holding - Major Breakthrough in Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography Technology

Event Overview: ASML's extreme ultraviolet source power is expected to increase from 600 watts to 1,000 watts, with EUV processing capacity potentially rising from 220 wafers per hour to 330 wafers by 2030. Market Interpretation: This reinforces its monopoly advantage in high-end lithography machines, benefiting AI-driven semiconductor capacity expansion. Investment Insight: With sustained high growth in AI computing power demand, leading semiconductor equipment companies have strong long-term growth certainty, suitable for medium to long-term allocation.

# 4. Cryptocurrency Project Dynamics

1. Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin sold over 8,800 ETH in February.
2. Bitcoin long positions liquidated over $210 million in 24 hours, exposing risks from high leverage.
3. Total liquidation amount in the crypto market exceeded $500 million, with long positions dominating.
4. Ethereum price followed risk assets down to around $1,900.
5. Bitcoin tested the key support level of $65,000, with market panic sentiment rising.

# 5. Today's Market Calendar

Data Release Schedule

Important Event Forecast

• Trump's State of the Union Address: All day today - Focus on trade policy, Iran situation, and retirement savings plan signals
• 15% New Tariff Officially Effective: Early this morning - Impact on global supply chains
• Apple Shareholder Meeting: Today - Expectations for new product launches and AI strategy

Bitget Research Institute View:
Tariff uncertainty and short-term "horror stories" about AI jointly suppress risk appetite, leading to a broad pullback in U.S. stocks on Monday, with the Dow down 1.66% leading the decline, and the tech and financial sectors under the most pressure. Precious metals emerged as clear winners, with gold prices breaking through $5,200 and silver surging 6%, highlighting a rapid switch of safe-haven funds. Crude oil slightly retreated, the dollar index dipped slightly, and the crypto market adjusted in sync, with long positions liquidated exceeding $500 million. Renowned investment bank analysts believe that tariffs are more of a short-term noise, and the logic of AI's long-term productivity enhancement remains unchanged; the Federal Reserve data and Trump's State of the Union address today will be key observation points. Investors are advised to maintain position discipline amid volatility, prioritize allocations in precious metals and quality tech core assets, and look for long-term certainty opportunities on dips.

Disclaimer: The above content is compiled by AI search, with human verification for publication, and should not be considered as any investment advice.