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Republic Research / ARTICLE

10 Things Investors Need to Know Today Monday, February 2, 2026 1. US Futures Red, Tech Leading Losses NQ futures down 0.8% with ES -0.6% and RTY -0.9% as the week begins on a defensive note. NVIDIA (-1.6%) and Oracle (-3.5%) are dragging tech lower on company-specific news. 2. NVIDIA's OpenAI Deal in Question WSJ reports NVIDIA's $100bln OpenAI investment has stalled amid internal concerns. CEO Huang's attempted clarification ("no, no, nothing like that" when asked about $100bln+) may have inadvertently confirmed the doubts. 3. Historic Precious Metals Crash Continues Gold crashed as much as 10% and silver 16% — gold's biggest intraday drop in four decades. The selloff was triggered by Kevin Warsh's nomination as Fed Chair, with Chinese investors locking in profits overnight. 4. Oil Slides on US-Iran Talks WTI broke below $62/bbl as geopolitical risk premium evaporates on reports of potential US-Iran meeting in Turkey this week. Trump confirmed Iran is "seriously talking" with Washington. 5. China PMI Surprise Contraction Both official manufacturing (49.3 vs 50.1 exp) and non-manufacturing (49.4 vs 50.3 exp) unexpectedly slipped into contraction. This marks a concerning shift and weighed heavily on APAC sentiment overnight. 6. RBA Rate Hike Priced at 76% Markets have shifted from expecting a pause to pricing in a 25bps hike at tomorrow's RBA meeting. Strong jobs data and above-target inflation are driving expectations higher. 7. Japan Election Polls Favor LDP Landslide Asahi poll shows ruling LDP-JIP coalition on track for 300+ seats in Sunday's snap election, well above the 233 majority threshold. PM Takaichi's comments on yen weakness added to JPY volatility. 8. US Government Shutdown Nearing Resolution Senate passed the $1.2tln funding deal 71-29 over the weekend. House votes Monday/Tuesday with Speaker Johnson predicting the partial shutdown ends by Tuesday. 9. Russia-Ukraine Talks Move to Abu Dhabi Next trilateral peace talks scheduled for Feb 4-5 in Abu Dhabi. Kremlin says differences narrowed on some issues but complex matters remain unresolved. 10. On the Calendar Today ISM Manufacturing PMI, Treasury Refunding Announcement, and earnings from Palantir and NXP Semiconductors. Fed's Bostic and BoE's Breeden are also on the speaker slate.

Published Feb 02, 2026Updated Feb 02, 20266 min read
10 Things Investors Need to Know Today Monday, February 2, 2026 1. US Futures Red, Tech Leading Losses NQ futures down 0.8% with ES -0.6% and RTY -0.9% as the week begins on a defensive note. NVIDIA (-1.6%) and Oracle (-3.5%) are dragging tech lower on company-specific news. 2. NVIDIA's OpenAI Deal in Question WSJ reports NVIDIA's $100bln OpenAI investment has stalled amid internal concerns. CEO Huang's attempted clarification ("no, no, nothing like that" when asked about $100bln+) may have inadvertently confirmed the doubts. 3. Historic Precious Metals Crash Continues Gold crashed as much as 10% and silver 16% — gold's biggest intraday drop in four decades. The selloff was triggered by Kevin Warsh's nomination as Fed Chair, with Chinese investors locking in profits overnight. 4. Oil Slides on US-Iran Talks WTI broke below $62/bbl as geopolitical risk premium evaporates on reports of potential US-Iran meeting in Turkey this week. Trump confirmed Iran is "seriously talking" with Washington. 5. China PMI Surprise Contraction Both official manufacturing (49.3 vs 50.1 exp) and non-manufacturing (49.4 vs 50.3 exp) unexpectedly slipped into contraction. This marks a concerning shift and weighed heavily on APAC sentiment overnight. 6. RBA Rate Hike Priced at 76% Markets have shifted from expecting a pause to pricing in a 25bps hike at tomorrow's RBA meeting. Strong jobs data and above-target inflation are driving expectations higher. 7. Japan Election Polls Favor LDP Landslide Asahi poll shows ruling LDP-JIP coalition on track for 300+ seats in Sunday's snap election, well above the 233 majority threshold. PM Takaichi's comments on yen weakness added to JPY volatility. 8. US Government Shutdown Nearing Resolution Senate passed the $1.2tln funding deal 71-29 over the weekend. House votes Monday/Tuesday with Speaker Johnson predicting the partial shutdown ends by Tuesday. 9. Russia-Ukraine Talks Move to Abu Dhabi Next trilateral peace talks scheduled for Feb 4-5 in Abu Dhabi. Kremlin says differences narrowed on some issues but complex matters remain unresolved. 10. On the Calendar Today ISM Manufacturing PMI, Treasury Refunding Announcement, and earnings from Palantir and NXP Semiconductors. Fed's Bostic and BoE's Breeden are also on the speaker slate.