ICM Capital - Market Update

Thursday, February 5, 2026

marketupdate@ICMCapital.co.uk

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Market Comment

Market Wrap: Stocks, Bonds, Commodities

On Wednesday, U.S. technology stocks continued to see pressure, with the Nasdaq 100 falling a further 447 points (-1.77%) to 24,891.

The S&P 500 declined 35 points (-0.51%) to 6,882, while the Dow Jones rebounded 260 points (+0.53%) to 49,501.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) plummeted 17.31%, the biggest single-day decline since May 2017, as the company’s sales forecast for the first quarter failed to impress investors.

Nvidia (NVDA) dropped 3.41%, extending its decline to a fourth session.

Also, Sandisk (SNDK) retreated 15.95%, Micron (MU) slid 9.55%, and Intel (INTC) was down 1.32%.

Most tech giants remained weak, with Tesla (TSLA) falling 3.78%, Meta (META) down 3.28%, and Amazon (AMZN) down 2.36%.

Meanwhile, Apple (AAPL) gained 2.60%, and Microsoft (MSFT) was up 0.72%.

After reporting quarterly results, Super Micro Computer (SMCI) surged 13.78%, Eli Lilly (LLY) jumped 10.33%, and Enphase Energy (ENPH) soared 38.60%.

Alphabet (GOOGL) closed 1.96% lower and eased a further 2% in after-market hours, after the tech giant said its full-year capital expenditure could reach up to 185 billion dollars, much more than expected.

In Europe, the DAX 40 fell 0.72%, while the CAC 40 rose 1.01%, and the FTSE 100 was up 0.85%.

Gold struggled to regain the key level of 5,000 dollars an ounce.

U.S. WTI crude futures jumped 1.93 dollars (+3.05%) to 65.14 dollars a barrel. Traders appeared to be not optimistic over planned talks between the U.S. and Iran to de-escalate tensions between the countries.

Market Wrap: Forex

The U.S. dollar regained some strength against other major currencies, with the dollar index rising to 97.66.

The U.S. Institute for Supply Management (ISM) services index held steady at 53.8 in January.

The ADP jobs report showed that the U.S. economy added 22,000 private jobs in January, fewer than expected.

EUR/USD declined 15 pips to 1.1803. Later today, the European Central Bank is expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged at 2.15%.

The Eurozone's inflation rate slowed to 1.7% year-on-year in January from 2.0% in December.

USD/JPY jumped 116 pips to 156.89.

GBP/USD fell 47 pips to 1.3650. Later today, the Bank of England is expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged at 3.75%.

AUD/USD dropped 27 pips to 0.6995.

USD/CHF gained 21 pips to 0.7770, and USD/CAD added 27 pips to 1.3667.

Bitcoin remained subdued, slumping over 4% to 72,500 dollars.

Morning Trading

In Asian trading hours, AUD/USD slid to 0.6966. Australia's trade surplus totaled 3.37 billion Australian dollars in December, below 4.90 billion Australian dollars estimated.

Meanwhile, EUR/USD slipped to 1.1788 and GBP/USD dropped to 1.3625.

USD/JPY was steady at 156.85.

Gold declined to 4,860 dollars.

Bitcoin remained subdued at 71,412 dollars.

Expected Today

The European Central Bank is expected to keep its main interest rates unchanged, with the deposit facility rate staying at 2.00%. Also, the eurozone's retail sales are expected to increase by 0.2% month-on-month in December.

Germany's factory orders are estimated to drop 4.2% month-on-month in December.

France's industrial production is expected to grow 0.3% month-on-month in December.

In the U.K., the Bank of England is expected to keep its benchmark rate unchanged at 3.75%.

In the U.S., weekly initial jobless claims are estimated at 214,000.

Forex	Last	%1D	%YTD
EUR/USD	1.1787	-0.16	0.52
USD/JPY	156.93	0.05	0.13
GBP/USD	1.3610	-0.29	1.31

Commodities	Last	%1D	%YTD
Gold	4,921.4900	-0.82	15.03
Silver	78.9230	-10.36	23.55
Crude Oil	63.7600	-2.12	12.13

EUR/USD Intraday: expect 1.1775.

Pivot: 1.1810

Our preference: short positions below 1.1810 with targets at 1.1775 & 1.1760 in extension.

Alternative scenario: above 1.1810 look for further upside with 1.1825 & 1.1840 as targets.

Comment: a break below 1.1775 would trigger a drop towards 1.1760.