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U.S. Indices were lower on Wednesday, primarily due to losses in AI-related names, namely semiconductors, software, memory and robotics. That said, breadth was very strong highlighted by the Equal-Weight RSP, +0.9%. Energy, Materials, and Staples, the best three performing sectors Year-To-Date continue to see gains given their little exposure to the AI complex (AAPL outperformed in Tech +2.6%) while Healthcare was boosted by a strong Eli Lilly (LLY) earnings report. Back to tech, AMD earnings contributed to downside in the space, as valuation concerns remain, particularly over expenses, despite beating on quarterly metrics and guidance. Precious metals also saw downside at the US equity open alongside crypto, with Gold reversing earlier gains, albeit losses were limited given the increased US-Iran tensions. Macro-moving updates came via US-Iran tensions, with crude prices rallying after Axios reported that the nuclear talks scheduled for Friday had been cancelled as the US disagreed with the location and Iran’s desire to exclude non-nuclear issues from the talks. That said, both Axios and the Iranian Foreign Minister said the talks are back on in Oman, with the former adding it comes amid several Arab and Muslim leaders urgently lobbied the Trump administration on Wednesday afternoon not to follow through on threats to walk away. Crude prices rallied on headlines that the talks were cancelled before trimming gains after the second wave of updates. Other developments came via US data whereby ADP Employment Change eased in January beneath expectations, whilst the ISM Services PMI reading was encouraging on the headline yet contained poor internals (drop in employment & new orders, rise in prices paid); limited reaction was seen. T-Notes were little changed, trading in a narrow range upon the QRA announcement, which saw quarterly refunding set at USD 125 billion, as expected. Given the passing of the funding bill seen on Tuesday, the BLS rescheduled the JOLTS December report and confirmed the claims report will both be released on Thursday. Rate announcements are expected from the BoE and ECB on Thursday. ISM Services was poor, despite the headline topping expectations at 53.8 (exp. 53.5, prev. 53.8) as Employment tumbled to 50.3 from 51.7 (exp. 52.3) and New Orders dropped to 53.1 from 56.5. Also, the inflationary gauge of prices paid lifted to 66.6 from 65.1. Although business activity rose to 57.4 from 55.2. Supplier deliveries rose, remaining expansionary, inventories fell into contractionary territory, while backlog of orders lifted, but remained beneath 50. New export orders and imports both fell below 50. Overall, Oxford Economics write that robust consumer spending, lower interest rates, and continued AI-related construction will support the sector over 2026. The consultancy further adds that the details of the report reinforce their expectations for the Fed to remain on hold until the middle of the year. Private employers added 22k jobs to the economy in January, shy of the expected 48k, easing from the +41k in December. Leading gains was healthcare (+74k) while the downside was led by manufacturing, which has lost jobs every month since March 2024. Annual pay saw job-stayers tick higher to 4.5% from 4.4% while job-changers fell to 6.4% from 6.6%. Companies employing between 50 and 249 workers added 37k jobs, with small firms flat and large employers down 18k. Dr. Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said, “While we’ve seen a continuous and dramatic slowdown in job creation for the past three years, wage growth has remained stable.” Pantheon Macroeconomics still believes that the labour market will remain weak in H1 overall, pressuring the FOMC to begin easing policy again. Elsewhere, Gold reversed earlier gains, closing lower by 0.33% while Oil was firm ending Wednesday’s trading with a gain of 1.7%.

To mark my 3325th issue of TraderNoble Daily Commentary I am offering a special 2-Year Rate of Euro 2750 for my Platinum Service which includes 1 to 4 updated emails throughout the trading day to demonstrate this value, a monthly subscription over the same period would cost 4440 euro in total This offer represents a 38% discount and is open to both new and existing members. If anyone is interested in this offer can you please email me on bryan@tradernoble.com for details

For anyone following my Platinum Service it made 448 points yesterday and is now ahead by 1643 points for February, after ending January with a gain of 4757 points, having closed December with a gain of 2599 points, after ending the month of November with a gain of 4542 points, after ending October with a nice gain of 5110 points after closing September with a gain of 3774 points while ending August with a gain of 3362 points after closing July with a gain of 3753 points after closing June with a gain of 3530 points, having closed May with a gain of 3606 points, after closing April with a gain of 7685 points after closing March with a gain of 2254 points while closing February with a gain of 4180 points. January ended with a gain of 2768 points while 1997 points were gained in December. October ended with a gain of 2179 points, after closing September with a gain of 4402 points, following a loss of 301 points in August. July gained 1908 points while June saw a gain of 2074 points. The Platinum Service made a record 9619 points in October 2022.  Since I started this New Platinum Service in June 2015 it has averaged a monthly gain of over 2300 points. I have a YouTube Channel which contains recent interviews I have given This can be viewed by clicking