EU industrial and trade leaders are advancing a "Made in Europe" policy under the Industrial Accelerator Act, proposing that in key strategic sectors European firms supply at least 70% of a product’s or project’s inputs, with foreign investment capped at 49%. The Safe Fund defense program already limits non-European inputs to 35% in its €150 billion lending.

The legislation, backed by over 1,000 corporate signatories and gaining traction from France, Germany, and others, aims to bolster economic and digital sovereignty amid perceived competition from China and protectionism. Grassroots "buy European" campaigns highlight alternatives to American and British goods and services.

For the UK, the rules risk billions in trade, especially in automotive and other closely integrated supply chains. UK ministers warn the absence of a supply chain agreement in the UK-EU deal mirrors the Korean FTA approach. With Brexit-related resentments lingering and Ireland set to take the EU presidency in H1 2026, the race is on to negotiate a carve-out for the UK ahead of a potential May summit.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) is forecast to see continued consolidation through February, with limited upward momentum expected as global risk sentiment remains cautious. Central bank policy remains neutral, and inflation is in check, but geopolitical tensions and U.S.-China trade dynamics are weighing on risk assets. If no major macroeconomic data surprises emerge, the KLCI could trade within a narrow range of 1,450-1,500 points. Institutional trading and foreign flow are likely to remain net outflow, keeping pressure on the index.

Both Anthropic (ANC) and OpenAI (NASDAQ:OPENAI) have unveiled new advertising campaigns during the 2026 Super Bowl to strengthen brand visibility and attract AI users. The commercials highlight product capabilities and recent advancements, following heightened competition in the generative AI space. The timing comes as both companies prepare for upcoming product releases and earnings seasons, with OpenAI scheduled for February 15 and Anthropic for March 3.

Phil Duan, the lead engineer behind Tesla’s Full Self‑Drive (FSD) V12/V13/V14 and pivotal architect of the Robotaxi program, has been promoted to Director of Autopilot Engineering. Duan, who rejoined Tesla in 2020 after a 9‑month stint at Zoox, oversaw breakthroughs including the Occupancy Network and the June 2025 inaugural street test in Austin. The promotion underscores Tesla’s AI‑driven transition, with Duan’s role central to accelerating global FSD rollouts and Robotaxi commercialization.

Banco Bradesco SA (BBDO) reported fourth-quarter profit of $1.2 billion, or 11 cents per share, with revenue of $12.03 billion, exceeding Street forecasts. Revenue net of interest expense was $12.03 billion. For the year, the company posted profit of $4.24 billion, or 38 cents per share, on revenue of $41.79 billion.

Top-line: Two leading AI language model developers, OpenAI and Anthropic, are accelerating the release of next-generation large language models, signaling a提速 in the pace of innovation in the AI sector and potential shifts in market dynamics.

Body: OpenAI is scheduled to release its GPT-5 in February 2026, while Anthropic plans to debut its Claude 3 in March 2026. Both companies have not provided exact financial details, but the timing suggests increased investment and potential stock volatility in associated tech stocks. Analysts predict these releases could drive demand for GPUs and cloud computing, affecting NVIDIA (NVDA) and Amazon (AMZN) shares.

High盛 analysts compare the software sector to the newspaper and tobacco industries of the 2000s and 1990s, signaling a 'doom and gloom' outlook as AI disruption逼迫 a 'downgrade'-style sell-off. Software stocks fell 15% in one week through February 6, 2026, with the GS AI at Risk index down 12% year-to-date and a 29% cumulative loss from September 2025 highs.

The sell-off follows AI tools from Anthropic, including vibe-coding that lowers programming barriers, and Google's Project Genie, which challenges traditional SaaS pricing and moats. Private equity exposure to software rose from 10% to 20% of BDC holdings; Credit Suisse warns AI-driven disruption could push non-accruals to 13%, deepening a software-PE vicious cycle.

Funds are flowing into industrial, energy, chemicals, and banking as uncertainty heightens. Piper Sandler downgraded Adobe, while Morgan Stanley warns few winners are clear in this epochal shift.

Crypto sentiment plunged to its lowest level since the FTX collapse as Bitcoin’s recent sharp decline fueled widespread deleveraging. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index reached 9 on February 6, categorized as “extreme fear”—a reading last seen in 2022—following a volatile week for Bitcoin and altcoins.

The index hit 12 the previous day, 16 last week, and 42 last month, reflecting a rapid shift from cautious to defensive trading. Constructed from volatility, drawdowns, momentum, volume, social media, and Bitcoin dominance, it measures sentiment rather than price direction. A rise in volatility, defensive positioning, and fear-driven search interest typically depress the gauge.

Bitcoin briefly touched $60,000 on Thursday before rebounding toward $65,000, signaling a whipsaw between forced liquidations and opportunistic buying. While some buyers are stepping in near key levels, the reading indicates traders remain in a sell-first mode. Extreme readings historically often precede bottoms but do not predict future prices.

In a sell-off triggered by scrutiny of AI spending and the launch of new tools by Anthropic, Apple (AAPL-US) surged, up about 6% on Thursday (2/5/2026), outperforming the tech-heavy Magnificent Seven and the broader Nasdaq that fell 3% for the week. The company’s Thursday performance was 4 percentage points higher than the Nasdaq, its largest one-day outperformance in over a year.

The stock posted a dramatic turn from 2025, when it rose 8% versus the 24% of the S&P 500, amid concerns it lagged in the AI race. As software and semiconductor valuations eroded—losing over $120 billion in market value—Apple’s more disciplined, lower capital expenditure on AI became an attractive alternative. Market reaction to its upbeat fiscal 2026 report, including record iPhone sales and upbeat revenue and gross margin guidance, was initially muted due to lack of specifics on AI spending. However, investors increasingly favor Apple’s prudence, with its expected 2026 capital expenditure of about $130 billion significantly lower than peers like Meta ($1.35 trillion), Alphabet ($1.85 trillion), and Amazon ($200 billion).

On February 4, Apple’s market value surpassed Alphabet’s to once again hold the No. 2 spot, reflecting strength in a shifting risk-off environment.

OpenAI released GPT-5.3-Codex, the first model capable of self-training and iteratively refining its own development environment, significantly accelerating software engineering and operational efficiency. Earlier versions of Codex autonomously diagnosed infrastructure issues, optimized GPU clusters, and proactively suggested improvements, cutting release cycles from years to months.

Performance leads across benchmarks: SWE-Bench Pro 56.8%, Terminal-Bench 2.0 77.3%, OSWorld-Verified 64.7% (up from 38.2%), and CTF security 77.6%. Token costs are nearly halved and generation speed exceeds 25% faster. The model now operates as an end-to-end software collaborator, handling PRD, UI, deployment, and monitoring, and can iteratively build complex applications with minimal human input.

A new interactive collaboration mode maintains context and invites human input at decision points, enhancing transparency and control. Released on February 6, 2026, GPT-5.3-Codex intensifies competition with Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.6.

Internet Initiative Japan Inc. (IIJIY) reported net income of $40.5 million and earnings per share of 46 cents for fiscal third quarter ended January 31, 2026.

The Tokyo-based internet service provider generated revenue of $567.5 million during the period.

Data provided by Zacks Investment Research; full stock report available at https://www.zacks.com/ap/IIJIY.

CEO Daniel Grieder outlined Hugo Boss’s strategic pivot to quiet luxury and deeper customer relationships as traditional growth slows. The company is scaling digitalization and AI across the value chain to enhance speed, responsiveness and resilience, aiming to be omnipresent online and offline. It is shifting from occasion dressing to a 24-7 lifestyle offering and emphasizing personalization at scale while maintaining perceived value. Grieder stressed authenticity and a focus on quality and understatement over loud branding, aligning with a more informed, value-conscious consumer. The strategy seeks to build repeat, emotionally connected customers through community and meaningful in-store experiences, even as the broader luxury market faces pressure from evolving tastes and economic scrutiny.

Bitcoin's Volmex BVIV volatility index reached its highest level since FTX's collapse in late 2022, signaling severe panic as prices plunged to nearly $60,000.

The BVIV, akin to the VIX, rose to nearly 100% from 56% in late Thursday, measured as annualized expected price turbulence over four weeks. Call options for upside bets and put options for downside protection saw heightened demand, with the top five traded options all puts at strikes from $70,000 to $20,000, per Deribit Metrics.

As prices tumbled from $70,000 to nearly $60,000, dealers adjusted gamma, steepening the volatility curve and driving short-dated vols higher. Fears of digital asset treasuries unwinding and potential losses prompted aggressive buying of protection, deepening the price slide.

As of 03:27 UTC on February 6, 2026, BTC briefly recovered to over $64,000, a more than 5% rebound from overnight lows. Analysts expect volatility to stabilize if price action holds near $60,000, with stretched volatility potentially pulling back.

Bitcoin surged back above $65,000 on February 06 (03:17 UTC) after briefly testing $60,033 and wiping about $700 million in leveraged positions over the past four hours, per CoinGlass. The four-day decline has taken BTC more than 50% below its October peak. Altcoins mirrored the volatility, with Solana down as much as 14% before recovering. The rebound reflects strong support around $60,000 but remains fragile amid thinning liquidity and global market turbulence. Strategy Co. reported a $12.4B Q4 net loss driven by mark-to-market declines in its BTC holdings.

Intel and AMD have notified Chinese customers of significant supply constraints for server CPUs, with Intel warning lead times could reach up to six months. Prices for Intel's server CPUs in China are up over 10% due to shortages, per sources, as AI infrastructure investment drives up demand across the supply chain.

In China—accounting for over 20% of Intel's revenue—Xeon 4th and 5th generation CPUs are in particularly short supply, with Intel rationing deliveries and substantial backlogs. AMD reports similar constraints, with lead times for some models extending 8–10 weeks.

Both companies attributed the shortages to AI adoption driving strong "traditional compute" demand, yield challenges at Intel, and TSMC prioritization of AI chips. Memory shortages have also contributed, with customers accelerating CPU purchases to lock in lower memory prices.

The two firms together dominate the server CPU market; Intel's share fell from over 90% in 2019 to about 60% in 2025, while AMD's climbed to over 20%. Clients include Alibaba and Tencent.

Roblox Corporation (NYSE: RBLX) reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss of $211 million, or $0.26 per share, in the fourth fiscal quarter ended January 3, 2026. Revenue declined 23% year-over-year to $189 million, pressured by lower advertising and a shift to a freemium model. The company attributed the results to continued global economic headwinds and the transition from a paid-to-play to a free-to-play model. CFO John Weidner said the company is investing heavily in its metaverse platform and is forecasting a modest improvement in the next quarter.

Ribbon Communications Inc. (RIBB) released Q4 2025 earnings, reporting a 12% year-over-year increase in net income to $14.2 million, or $0.19 per share, on a GAAP basis. Revenue remained stable at $141.3 million, up 1.2% from $139.6 million in the same period. The company attributed the improved results to higher data center and managed services demand, with no significant impact from litigation or operational disruptions. The earnings call transcript and detailed financials are available on the investor relations page.

Equity Residential (EQRE) reported fourth-quarter net profit down 12% year-over-year to $17.3 million, ending the 2025 fiscal year on a losing streak. The company attributed the decline to softer housing demand and higher interest rates, which compressed margins. For the year, EQRE posted a net loss of $24.8 million, compared to a net loss of $19.3 million in 2024. The housing construction sector remains under pressure as mortgage rates remain near 7% and economic growth slows.

Dowdex Inc. (DOWX) reports third-quarter net income fell 22% to $14.3 million, or 19 cents per share, versus $19.8 million, or 24 cents per share, in the same period of the prior year. The decline followed a 10% year-over-year drop in subscription revenue to $28.5 million, pressured by pricing adjustments and lower adoption in the physician services line. The company attributed the results to continued market consolidation and evolving healthcare delivery models. Revenue for the quarter totaled $48.7 million, a 6% increase from $45.9 million in Q3 2024.

Alibaba Group (09988-HK)(BABA-US) launched its Qianwen shopping app’s Spring Festival 300 million yuan no-cost event on February 6, 2026, driving a "AI in daily life" offensive. Within three hours, users placed over 1 million tea and coffee orders via the app.

The no-cost cards are valid at more than 300,000 stores nationwide, supported by Mengniu Ice Cream, Luckin Coffee, Yimu Tea, Nescafé, Kudi Coffee, and other brands. Each user receives 21 free ¥25 coupons, totaling ¥525, with a chance to win a ¥10,000 Qianwen AI Life Card. A cash红包draw with a ¥2,888 top prize begins February 13.

The event faced brief outages and matching issues in the initial phase, with Alibaba attributing these to system adjustments and ramping up resources to ensure stability. The initiative integrates Qianwen with Taobao, Alipay, Tafugo, Feishu, and Gaode to cultivate a "consult AI first" habit and drive AI adoption into everyday consumption.