Reaching new heights again! Tech giants make rare moves

【Introduction】Alphabet Rarely Issues a Century Bond

In the overnight U.S. stock market, the three major indices showed mixed performance. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, issued a century-long bond, with some analysts stating that the main buyers of this bond are insurance companies and pension funds.

The Three Major U.S. Stock Indices Diverge

On Tuesday, February 10, Eastern Time, the three major U.S. stock indices diverged. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose slightly to a new all-time high, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq declined.

At the close, the Dow increased by 0.10%, closing at 50,188.14 points; the S&P 500 fell by 0.33%, closing at 6,941.81 points; the Nasdaq dropped by 0.59%, closing at 23,102.47 points.

In macroeconomic data, U.S. retail sales for December 2025 showed stagnation.

Data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce indicated that, after a 0.6% increase in inflation-adjusted retail sales in November 2025, December remained essentially flat. Core retail sales, excluding auto dealers and gas stations, also remained flat. Among 13 major retail categories, 8 experienced declines, including clothing stores and furniture stores, with auto dealer sales also decreasing. Meanwhile, spending at building materials and sporting goods retailers saw slight growth.

The data shows that as the holiday shopping season approaches its end, spending momentum has significantly slowed, with consumers remaining cautious about discretionary spending amid high inflation.

Data from the U.S. Department of Labor shows that employment cost index in Q4 of last year increased by 0.7% quarter-over-quarter, below market expectations of 0.8% and also below the previous quarter’s 0.8%. Additionally, the U.S. January non-farm payroll report will be released this Wednesday.

Most Large Tech Stocks Decline

Among the “Big Seven” U.S. tech giants, only Tesla rose by 1.89%; Google fell by 1.78%, Meta declined by 0.96%, Amazon dropped by 0.87%, Nvidia decreased by 0.79%, Apple fell by 0.34%, and Microsoft declined by 0.08%.

In company news, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, raised nearly $32 billion in debt within less than 24 hours. After issuing $20 billion in dollar-denominated bonds across seven tranches on Monday, Alphabet also issued bonds denominated in pounds and Swiss francs, breaking records in both markets.

According to media reports, the dollar bonds received over $100 billion in subscriptions. The £1 billion (approximately $1.4 billion) century bond was nearly ten times oversubscribed. Previously, Alphabet announced that its capital expenditures this year would reach $185 billion, doubling last year’s scale.

This issuance includes a rare century bond, the first such ultra-long-term bond issued by a tech company since the late 1990s.

Gordon Kerr, a macro strategist at KBRA Europe, said, “They aim to reach a broad range of investors, from structural financing investors to ultra-long-term investors.” The main buyers of the century bonds are expected to be insurance companies and pension funds, and “underwriters of this bond are likely to hold onto it rather than wait for maturity.”

Kerr added, “It’s hard to say whether this will become normal. Even in the government bond market, this practice is not widespread.”

Consumer Retail Stocks Decline

Costco dropped over 3%, Walmart fell more than 1.8%, and other retail stocks also declined.

Latest retail data shows that U.S. consumer spending in December 2025 was flat month-over-month, below the expected 0.4% growth; retail sales in November had increased by 0.6%.

Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial, said that another key factor putting pressure on middle- and low-income consumers is their perception of the employment environment, with confidence becoming more uncertain. If January’s employment growth falls short of expectations, it could impact the market’s broad rally theme.

Charles Schwab Down 7.43%

The financial platform Altruist launched a new AI-powered tax planning tool, sparking concerns about increased competition in the financial services industry.

The financial sector overall came under pressure, with Charles Schwab falling over 7%. Bank stocks declined broadly, with JPMorgan down 1.2%.

CME Group Plans to Launch Single-Stock Futures This Summer

CME Group announced plans to launch single-stock futures products this summer, pending regulatory approval and completion of all procedures.

These products will allow market participants to trade futures contracts on over 50 leading U.S. stocks within the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Russell 1000 indices, including Alphabet, Meta, Nvidia, and Tesla, all settled in cash.

Tim McCourt, CME Group’s global head of equities, FX, and alternative products, said these contracts will provide investors with a simpler, more cost-effective way to express views on individual stocks, while also enabling market participants to gain exposure or hedge potential price movements without directly buying the stocks. These contracts will be listed on CME and governed by its trading rules.

Regarding gold, prices have recently fluctuated slightly, with COMEX gold futures trading above $5,050 per ounce.