MARKET WRAPS
Watch For:
No major economic updates expected; trading updates for Heineken, Commerzbank, ABN Amro, EssilorLuxottica, TotalEnergies, Deutsche Boerse, Siemens Energy and others.
Opening Call:
European stock futures were mixed after Asia stocks broadly rose. U.S. Treasurys were flat, the dollar weakened. Gold rose and oil edged higher.
Equities:
European futures were mixed as investors awaited U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, which could shape Fed rate-cut prospects.
Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said she believes the Fed's interest-rate stance is set well for the risks facing the economy, a sign she might be reluctant to support a return to cutting rates at the central bank's coming meetings.
Overnight on Wall Street, AI-related jitters weighed on stocks, with markets already unnerved by the recent pullback in software and tech.
Some analysts said the reaction in financial stocks was overblown."We do not see much fundamentally new here with these developments, just the market fragility on the topic," said Devin Ryan, director of financial-technology research at Citizens, in a note to clients.
Forex:
The U.S. dollar slightly weakened ahead of the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report due out later in the day.
"We expect the run of below-consensus payrolls to continue and weigh on the USD," said CBA's Carol Kong in a research report.
A further softening of the U.S. labor market, together with easing inflationary pressures, will probably "encourage" the Fed to cut rates twice more this year, the economist and currency strategist said.
Bonds:
U.S. Treasury yields were flat, after declining for the second consecutive day following disappointing retail sales and ahead of the shutdown-delayed January jobs report.
Economists surveyed by WSJ expect payrolls to tick higher to 55,000 from December's 50,000, with unemployment unchanged at 4.4%, with hourly earnings expected to be broadly stable.
Energy:
Crude futures edged higher with the market appearing on hold, awaiting further talks between the U.S. and Iran while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Washington to make Israel's position known.
In its latest oil market forecast, the EIA said it assumes Iranian oil production will remain stable, but acknowledges "that actions targeting oil infrastructure or a conflict that affects flows through Strait of Hormuz could obviously reduce Middle East oil production and exports."
Metals:
Gold rose amid prospects for Fed rate cuts, which could enhance the appeal of the non-interest-bearing precious metal.
Data released overnight showed U.S. retail sales were unexpectedly flat in December. The focus for the week is also upcoming U.S. inflation data, which could recalibrate expectations for Fed policy, said Exness' Christopher Tahir.
Current market prices pointed to at least two rate cuts of 25 basis points by the Fed this year, with the first rate cut possibly arriving in June, the senior market strategist added.
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Iron ore edged higher, as futures were steady after China's central bank reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining a moderately loose monetary policy stance, prioritizing stable economic growth and a reasonable recovery in prices, said ANZ Research.
However, headwinds are mounting, with Chinese demand in structural decline and little prospect of stimulus to arrest the fall, they added.
Traders were also watching the production ramp-up at the giant Simandou mine in Guinea, which should increasingly weigh on sentiment.
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
Fed's Interest-Rate Stance Well-Positioned, Dallas Fed President Says
Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said she believes the Federal Reserve's interest-rate stance is set well for the risks facing the economy, a sign she might be reluctant to support a return to cutting rates at the central bank's coming meetings.
Cuts last year reduced the fed-funds rate to a range of 3.5% to 3.75%, a level the Fed reaffirmed at its most recent meeting last month. Speaking at a financial conference in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, Logan said that setting is about right for an economy facing both persistent inflation and a gradually cooling job market. The Fed's policy stance is likely near a level where it is neither boosting nor restraining economic activity, Logan said.
EU Clears Google's $32 Billion Wiz Purchase
The European Union approved Google's $32 billion acquisition of cybersecurity startup Wiz, a win for the Alphabet unit's largest-ever takeover.
The commission, the EU's executive arm, said Tuesday that the agreement is unlikely to affect competition in the bloc. The regulator said that customers could switch to services provided by other credible competitors if Google started bundling Wiz's security platform with its own existing products or if Wiz's platform became incompatible with any cloud that compete with Google's.
Big Tech Companies Prepare to Skirt Trump's $100,000 H-1B Fee
WASHINGTON-The world's biggest technology companies are looking to skirt President Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee, potentially leaving the brunt of the new policy to hit smaller startups.
Drawing largely on playbooks they have relied on for years, Amazon.com, Microsoft, Alphabet's Google and others generally plan to find workers in categories that don't have to pay the fee, including existing H-1B visa holders, students and people on other types of visas, according to people familiar with the companies' plans.
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Expected Major Events for Wednesday
00:01/UK: Jan UK Nations and Regions Growth Tracker
05:30/NED: Dec International trade
07:00/NOR: 4Q Labour force survey
09:00/ITA: Dec Industrial Production
09:00/EU: Jan Long term interest rates statistics
11:00/POR: Jan CPI
16:59/AUT: Feb OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 10, 2026 23:59 ET (04:59 GMT)
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