China Home Prices Rise in January as Government Signals Stronger Support for Property Market 
U.S.–Venezuela Relations Show Signs of Thaw as Top Envoy Visits Caracas 
BOJ Policymakers Warn Weak Yen Could Fuel Inflation Risks and Delay Rate Action 
Canada’s Trade Deficit Jumps in November as Exports Slide and Firms Diversify Away From U.S. 
Asian Markets Slide as Silver Volatility, Earnings Season, and Central Bank Meetings Rattle Investors 
South Korea Factory Activity Hits 18-Month High as Export Demand Surges 
India Budget 2025 Highlights Manufacturing Push but Falls Short of Market Expectations 
U.S. Government Faces Brief Shutdown as Congress Delays Funding Deal 
JPMorgan Lifts Gold Price Forecast to $6,300 by End-2026 on Strong Central Bank and Investor Demand 
China Factory Activity Slips in January as Weak Demand Weighs on Growth Outlook 
Russia Stocks End Flat as MOEX Closes Unchanged Amid Mixed Global Signals 
Philippines Manufacturing PMI Hits Nine-Month High Despite Weak Confidence Outlook 
EU Recovery Fund Faces Bottlenecks Despite Driving Digital and Green Projects 
Japan Election Poll Signals Landslide Win for Sanae Takaichi, Raising Fiscal Policy Concerns 
U.S. Eases Venezuela Oil Sanctions to Boost American Investment After Maduro Ouster 
U.S. stock index futures were slightly lower on Monday evening following a mixed session on Wall Street, where optimism around artificial intelligence (AI) and positive corporate developments helped lift major indexes. As of 19:15 ET (00:15 GMT), S&P 500 futures slipped 0.1% to 6,873.20, Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.2% to 26,048.75, and Dow Jones futures declined 0.1% to 47,412.00.
The S&P 500 gained 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.5%, driven by strength in megacap tech stocks and renewed confidence in AI innovation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, fell 0.5% as investors took profits after last week’s rally. Market sentiment was fueled by news of a $38 billion partnership between Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) and OpenAI. Under the deal, Amazon Web Services will provide large-scale cloud infrastructure to power OpenAI’s next-generation AI models—reinforcing expectations of accelerating AI investment through 2025. Amazon shares surged over 4%, while Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) rose 2.2%, benefiting from optimism surrounding AI infrastructure demand.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Nvidia’s cutting-edge “Blackwell” AI chips would be reserved exclusively for U.S. use, a move analysts warned could strain trade relations with China. On the economic front, the ISM manufacturing index reported a contraction for the eighth consecutive month in October, with a reading of 48.7, indicating ongoing weakness in U.S. factory activity.
Amid a prolonged government shutdown—the longest in U.S. history—investors and policymakers remain without key economic data. In earnings news, Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) reported results in line with forecasts but fell 3% in after-hours trading. Investors now turn their focus to upcoming reports from Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD), Uber (NYSE: UBER), and McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) for further insight into AI trends and consumer resilience.
