U.S. employment data is weak, and tech stocks and Bitcoin continue to decline, dragging down U.S. stocks sharply on Thursday. The Dow Jones closed down 592 points or 1.2%, at 48,908 points; the S&amp;P 500 fell 84 points or 1.23%, at 6,798 points; the Nasdaq dropped 363 points or 1.59%, at 22,540 points; the Golden Dragon Index, which reflects the performance of Chinese concept stocks, rebounded 0.9%, at 7,528 points.
Major tech stocks almost all fell, with Amazon dropping 4.4% before earnings, Microsoft down nearly 5%, AMD down 3.8%, Tesla down 2%, and NVIDIA down 1.3%. Alphabet fell 8% after earnings but closed down only 0.5%.
<h2>Bitcoin Falls Below $63,000</h2>
Bitcoin fell below $63,000, with a decline of 15%, marking its lowest level since November 2024, down 49.6% from its historical high of $126,000. Cryptocurrency-related stocks were heavily sold, with Strategy down 17%, MARA down 18.7%, and Coinbase down 13.3%.
Spot silver prices fell as much as 18%, reaching a low of $72.2 per ounce, while spot gold prices fell below $4,800 again. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) issued a notice to adjust the margins for some futures contracts for gold, silver, and aluminum. The new margin ratio for gold has been raised to 9%, and for silver to 18%, effective after Friday's close.
U.S. job vacancies unexpectedly dropped to the lowest level since 2020 in December, further indicating weak hiring demand from businesses. The Labor Statistics Bureau reported on Thursday that the number of job vacancies fell from a revised 6.928 million in November to 6.542 million, below market expectations.
<h2>Nio Issues Positive Earnings Forecast</h2>
In Hong Kong stocks, the Hang Seng Index opened down 530 points this morning, starting at 26,354 points. Tech stocks generally fell, with Tencent (700) down 2.2%; Alibaba (9988) down 3.8%; Xiaomi (1810) down 1.7%; JD.com (9618) down 2.4%; NetEase (9999) down 3%; and Baidu (9888) down 4.3%.
Meituan (3690) fell 1.3%, as the company plans to spend $717 million (approximately HKD 5.6 billion) to acquire the mainland fresh e-commerce platform Dingdong.
Nio (9866) issued a positive earnings forecast, expecting adjusted profits of RMB 700 million to RMB 1.2 billion for the fourth quarter of last year, turning from a loss in the same period last year. This morning, its stock price rose 2% against the trend.
Three new stocks debuted today, with Muyuan Foods (2714) opening flat at an IPO price of 39 yuan. Zhuozheng Medical (2677) opened at 81 yuan, up 35.2% from the IPO price of 59.9 yuan; Dazhong CNC (3200) opened at 106 yuan, up 10.6% from the IPO price of 95.8 yuan.
Regarding the northbound capital flow, on Thursday, southbound funds net bought Hong Kong stocks worth HKD 24.977 billion. Tencent (700), Tracker Fund (2800), and Alibaba (9988) received net purchases of HKD 5.578 billion, HKD 4.576 billion, and HKD 1.553 billion, respectively; while Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable (6869), Hua Hong Semiconductor (1347), and SMIC (981) saw net sales of HKD 457 million, HKD 363 million, and HKD 309 million, respectively

The Hang Seng Index opened 530 points lower this morning, reporting at 26,354 points, with technology stocks generally declining; Alibaba fell 3.8%, and Tencent dropped 2.2%. U.S. stocks fell sharply due to weak employment data, with the Dow Jones down 592 points. Bitcoin fell below $63,000, and spot gold prices dropped below $4,800. Nio announced a positive earnings forecast, rising against the trend

- U.S. employment data showed weakness, leading to significant declines in tech stocks and Bitcoin, with the Dow Jones dropping 592 points to 48,908.  
- Major tech stocks fell sharply, and Bitcoin plunged to below $63,000, a 15% decrease, marking its lowest since November 2024.  
- U.S. job vacancies fell unexpectedly to the lowest level since 2020, indicating weak hiring demand, while Nio's stock rose after positive earnings guidance.

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The Hang Seng Index opened 530 points lower, Alibaba fell 3.8%, Tencent dropped 2%, and Nio rose 2% against the trend | Hong Kong stock market opens