Financial News Updates: Morning meeting February 10th

Understanding financial news and staying informed about the latest updates is crucial for anyone looking to make smart financial decisions. For high school students and young adults, navigating the world of money management can be daunting, which is why a platform like MindMyCents is a valuable resource.

Markets Recap 10th of February

European Markets Hit New Highs While U.S. Tech Tries to Recover

European stock markets continued to rise on Monday. The broad Stoxx Europe 600 even closed at a new all-time high, showing a steady and almost linear upward trend.

This contrasts with Wall Street, which has been much more volatile recently. Still, U.S. markets benefited from a second consecutive rebound in technology stocks, helping investors move away from the sharp sell-off fears that appeared last week.

This week, investors are focusing on corporate earnings and the first batch of U.S. macroeconomic data, which could set the tone for global markets.

Technology: Still Dominant, But More Fragile

Stock markets, like history, go through phases of dominance. For the past 30 years, technology has been the dominant sector—and it still is.

Big U.S. tech companies remain the most crowded trade in the world. The rise of generative AI has only reinforced this trend. But AI also creates uncertainty: it disrupts business models, increases competition, and makes earnings less predictable.

As a result, investors are doing two things at once:

• Staying invested in tech

• Rediscovering traditional sectors such as energy, utilities, and materials

This is typical during periods of major economic transitions.

Europe Benefits From “Old Economy” Sectors

Europe is currently benefiting from this rotation.

The Stoxx Europe 600 has fallen only once in the last seven sessions and closed at a record 621.41 points. The main drivers are:

• Energy

• Basic materials

• Utilities

All three sectors are up more than 10% since the start of the year.

The weak spot? Consumer cyclicals, especially luxury and automotive stocks.

U.S. Software Stocks Try to Bounce Back

In the U.S., software stocks are attempting a rebound after being heavily sold off last week, partly due to AI-related competition fears.

Some investors are buying beaten-down stocks—risky, but sometimes profitable.Example: Oracle gained:

• +4.7% on Friday

• +9.6% on Monday

Even so, the stock is still down about 20% in 2026, showing how volatile the sector remains.

The Dollar and Interest Rates Under Pressure

The U.S. dollar is under close watch.

Markets reacted strongly after Bloomberg reported that China is encouraging its banks to reduce exposure to U.S. government debt.

At the same time, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett warned that U.S. employment could weaken in the coming months due to demographic trends.

This combination pushed:

• The dollar lower

• The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield below 4.20%

Why does this matter?If the job market weakens, the Federal Reserve will be more likely to cut interest rates.

Markets now expect:

• A rate cut in June

• And even a possible cut in April (probability rising to 36%, up from 24% last week)

Upcoming U.S. data on employment and inflation later this week will be crucial.