Global news you need to know before Thursday's U.S. stock market opens

U.S. stock indices all fell before the market opened, with Nasdaq futures dropping more than 1% at one point, and the VIX index soaring 7%.

U.S. Challenger companies laid off 108,000 workers in January, the highest for the same period since 2009, surging 205% month-on-month.

For the fifth consecutive time, the European Central Bank paused interest rate hikes, keeping rates unchanged without providing policy guidance.

Staying put! The Bank of England maintained interest rates at 3.75%, with a 5 to 4 voting result signaling a strong indication for rate cuts.

Falling below $70,000! Bitcoin dropped to its lowest level since Trump's election, as the market fell into a "crisis of confidence"!

An AI sell-off swept through South Korean stocks! Foreign investors net sold $3.4 billion, setting a record high.

Amid election uncertainty, Japan's 30-year government bond auction "stabilized the market."

Vietnam's economic growth is strong, with a GDP growth target exceeding 10% for 2026.

Strong demand for AI! Foxconn's sales in January reached NT$730.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 35.5%.

European stock earnings report "Black Thursday": Maersk's profits halved, Volvo plummeted 14%, and Vodafone's revenue fell short of expectations.

Anglo American's copper production in Q4 declined 14% year-on-year, lowering its copper production guidance for 2027.

Nio's pre-market shares rose over 11%, as the company achieved quarterly profitability for the first time, with operating profit expected to reach 700 million to 1.2 billion yuan in Q4 2025.

The Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.9%, the Shanghai Composite index closed down 0.64%; the Hang Seng index closed up 0.14%