U.S. Treasury yields decline, driving turbulence in global stock markets; tech giant Alphabet's market value rebounds to surpass Apple

Wednesday( January 7), global financial market sentiment fluctuated, with U.S. Treasury yields declining as the dominant trend. Weak U.S. labor market data continued to ferment, leading market traders to widely bet on further easing by the Federal Reserve. This directly dragged the 10-year benchmark U.S. Treasury yield down to about 4.15%, a decrease of 2 basis points from the previous trading day. Meanwhile, the market is also paying attention to the upcoming non-farm payrolls report to be released on Friday, which is expected to further confirm the cooling trend in the labor market.

Labor Market Continues to Weaken, Unemployment Rate Hits 4-Year High

Data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the unemployment rate in November rose to 4.6%, a 4-year high, up 0.4 percentage points month-over-month. More critically, employment growth in the private sector slowed significantly—U.S. companies added 41,000 jobs in December, well below the market expectation of 50,000; job vacancies dropped to 7.146 million, also below the expected 7.6 million, hitting the lowest point in over a year.

Economists estimate that December’s new job additions will reach 73,000, slightly higher than November’s 64,000. However, throughout the year, since mid-last year, tariff policy adjustments, declining immigration, and developments in artificial intelligence have impacted the employment market, resulting in an average monthly increase of only 17,000 jobs from May to November, far below the 12-month average of (147,000) up to April 2025.

Unexpected rebound in Non-Manufacturing PMI, Service Sector Activity Accelerates

The U.S. Institute for Supply Management announced that the December non-manufacturing PMI( unexpectedly rose to 54.4, reaching a new high since October last year, surpassing November’s 52.6 and reversing the market’s expected decline to 52.3. The data indicates that U.S. service sector activity expanded at the fastest pace in over a year, driven mainly by steady demand growth and a warming recruitment market. During the period, the new orders index jumped from 52.9 to 57.9, the employment index rose from 48.9 to 52, and export orders recorded the fastest growth in over a year.

U.S. Stock Markets Mixed, Tech Stocks Lead Gains

The performance of the three major U.S. stock indices was mixed: the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.94%, the S&P 500 declined 0.34%, ending a three-day winning streak, while the Nasdaq Composite rose slightly by 0.16%; the China Golden Dragon Index dropped 1.58%. Among individual stocks, Alphabet’s stock rose 2.5%, with market capitalization reaching $3.88 trillion, surpassing Apple’s $3.84 trillion for the first time since 2019. Microsoft and Nvidia each gained over 1%, while Tesla slightly declined by 0.4%.

Alphabet’s market cap surpassing highlights the divergence in AI strategies between the two tech giants. Google launched its seventh-generation tensor processor Ironwood last November, seen as a potential alternative to Nvidia’s products; the Gemini 3 launched in December also received industry praise. In contrast, Apple has lagged in AI competition, with plans to launch a new Siri assistant last year delayed, and Wall Street investment bank Raymond James downgraded Apple’s rating this week.

Major Global Markets Overview

European stocks also performed unevenly: the UK FTSE 100 fell 0.74%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.04%, and Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.92%.

U.S. bond market: the 10-year benchmark yield is about 4.15%, down 2 basis points from the previous day, reflecting market expectations of continued Fed easing.

Commodities: pressure persists—gold prices fell 0.86% to $4,456 per ounce; WTI crude oil dropped 1.0% to $56.4 per barrel, influenced by expectations of increased oil supply from Venezuela.

Forex market: the U.S. dollar index rose 0.14% to 98.72, supported by geopolitical risk despite falling Treasury yields; USD/JPY increased 0.06%, EUR/USD declined 0.11%.

Cryptocurrency market: adjustments observed—Bitcoin down 2.75% in 24 hours to $91,134; Ethereum down 4.05% to $3,161 in 24 hours.

Hong Kong stock futures: Hang Seng Index night market futures at 26,348 points, 111 points below the previous day’s close of 26,458; volume 12,275 contracts; China Enterprises Index futures at 9,106 points, 33 points below previous close.

Commodities and Geopolitical Interplay

Goldman Sachs forecasts continued volatility in silver prices. Despite reaching historic highs in 2025, tight London inventories will continue to amplify fluctuations. Due to declining inventories, there is a “squeeze” risk—when investors flood London vaults to absorb remaining silver, prices will accelerate upward; when supply tightness eases, prices will sharply fall. Goldman Sachs still believes the U.S. is unlikely to impose tariffs on silver.

The U.S. has seized the Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera in the North Atlantic and a second unflagged oil tanker Bella 1 in the Caribbean, suspected of transporting Iranian oil. Russia protests, claiming the tanker only temporarily flew the flag, and no country has the right to use force against vessels under another nation’s jurisdiction.

Corporate Financing and Strategic Adjustments

Anthropic)Claude chatbot developer( plans to raise $1 billion at a valuation of $350 billion, nearly doubling its valuation from four months ago. This round of funding was led by Singapore’s GIC and Coatue Management, marking the third major deal in the past year. Nvidia and Microsoft are reportedly planning to invest a total of $15 billion, with Anthropic expected to initiate an IPO process this year.

ExxonMobil stated that falling oil prices will reduce Q4 profits by $800 million to $1.2 billion. Although increased fuel margins offset about $700 million of this decline, lower chemical profits and asset impairments still weigh on results; asset sales contributed approximately $800 million in quarterly gains.

Future Focus

The market will closely watch December CPI in Switzerland, unemployment rate and industrial climate index in the Eurozone, U.S. initial jobless claims, and data for the week ending January 3. Additionally, the upcoming U.S. December non-farm payrolls report on Friday will be a key reference for the Federal Reserve’s future policy direction.