A Trump tariff faces opposition from the U.S. House of Representatives

Local time February 11th, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the employment report showing that non-farm payrolls in the U.S. increased by 130,000 in January, far exceeding market expectations of 55,000; the January unemployment rate decreased from 4.4% to 4.3%, hitting a new low since August 2025.

The strong non-farm data did not boost market sentiment. With expectations of Fed rate cuts further delayed and tech giants investing heavily in AI with uncertain profitability prospects, market risk appetite was further suppressed, and U.S. stocks declined accordingly.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.13% to 50,121.40 points; the S&P 500 index slightly declined by 0.34 points to 6,941.47; the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.16% to 23,066.47.

According to CCTV News, on February 11th, local time, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a resolution opposing President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada. This is a rare instance of the Republican-controlled House publicly opposing the president’s policy.

U.S. Major Stock Indices Slightly Lower

On February 11th, local time, the three major U.S. stock indices closed slightly lower. The Dow fell 0.13% to 50,121.40 points; the S&P 500 was flat at 6,941.47; the Nasdaq declined 0.16% to 23,066.47.

Large tech stocks showed mixed performance. Among individual stocks, Google and Microsoft fell over 2%, Amazon declined more than 1%, Facebook dropped 0.3%, Nvidia rose 0.78%, Tesla increased 0.8%, and Apple gained 0.67%.

Chip stocks generally rose, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up 2.28%. Microchip Technology surged over 16%, Micron Technology rose nearly 10%, NXP Semiconductors increased over 5%, Microchip Technology gained over 5%, and TSMC rose over 3%.

On the news front, on February 11th, Meta announced that as part of its large-scale AI infrastructure development plan, the company has begun building a new data center. This data center, with an investment of over $10 billion, will be located in Lebanon, Indiana, with a capacity exceeding 1 gigawatt. This power scale is enough to supply electricity to hundreds of thousands of U.S. households.

Additionally, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced approval of Amazon’s application to deploy 4,500 satellites. This will expand Amazon’s satellite constellation and strengthen its competitiveness in space internet. FCC approval brings Amazon’s planned low Earth orbit satellite constellation to about 7,700 satellites.

Most Chinese concept stocks declined, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index down 0.65%. Among individual stocks, Hesai Technology fell nearly 6%, Huya dropped over 5%, JinkoSolar declined more than 5%, Canadian Solar fell over 4%, Qifu Technology declined over 4%, NetEase dropped over 4%, BaWang Tea nearly 4%, and TAL Education down over 3%. Gains included China Internet Corporation (CITIC) up over 12%, Kingsoft Cloud about 10%, Bilibili nearly 3%, Huazhu Group over 2%, NIO over 2%, Miniso over 2%, ZTO Express nearly 2%, and KE Holdings about 2%.

U.S. January Non-Farm Data Significantly Surpasses Expectations

Further Delay in Rate Cut Expectations

On February 11th, local time, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released data showing that U.S. non-farm employment increased by 130,000 in January, significantly better than market expectations and the largest increase since April last year; the unemployment rate was 4.3%, versus an expected 4.4% and previous 4.4%; average hourly earnings rose 3.7% year-over-year, versus an expected 3.6%, and the previous 3.8% was revised to 3.7%; month-over-month, earnings increased 0.4%, versus an expected 0.3%, and the previous 0.3% was revised to 0.1%; the employment participation rate was 62.5%, versus an expected 62.4%, and previous 62.4%.

Following the release of the January non-farm employment data, the U.S. dollar index rose to 97.16. Spot gold temporarily turned lower after previously rising over 1%; spot silver’s gains narrowed from 6% to 4%. The three major U.S. stock index futures increased by 0.4%–0.5%. Yields on U.S. Treasuries of various maturities rose.

The strong non-farm data also further delayed market expectations for Fed rate cuts. Currently, the market prices in a rate cut by the Fed in July, previously expecting June.

White House Council of Economic Advisers Chair Jared Bernstein stated that the booming development of artificial intelligence can boost productivity and economic growth. Inflation data will be a key factor in the Fed’s decision. He believes the Fed still has ample room to cut rates and that GDP growth of 4% to 5% is easily achievable this year.

Federal Reserve Board member Mester expects inflation to decline significantly this year. Increasing supply through productivity improvements and deregulation can expand output and help lower inflation. The January employment data does not mean rate cuts are impossible. There are still many reasons to lower interest rates.

The January non-farm report was originally scheduled for release on February 6th but was delayed nearly a week due to the federal government partial shutdown. Matt Weller, Chief Global Strategist at CIBC World Markets, told reporters that before the latest employment data was released, economists believed the U.S. labor market in January continued its pattern of “low hiring, low firing.” Traders generally expected a “steady and solid” employment report, with moderate job growth, stable unemployment, and gradual wage increases.

U.S. House of Representatives Passes Resolution to End Tariffs on Canada

According to CCTV News, on February 11th, local time, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a resolution opposing President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada. This is a rare instance of the Republican-controlled House publicly opposing the president’s policy.

The resolution, approved by 219 votes in favor and 211 against, aims to terminate Trump’s use of national emergency powers to impose punitive trade measures on Canadian goods. The resolution has been submitted to the Senate and is expected to pass.

Trump Will Be Called Prime Minister

Stating that an Agreement with Iran Will Be “Preferred”

According to Xinhua News Agency, U.S. President Trump held a closed-door meeting with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu at the White House on February 11th. Afterwards, he posted on social media that reaching an agreement with Iran would be “the preferred” option for the U.S.

The meeting lasted about three hours. Trump described the meeting as “very good” on social media, and said that aside from his “insistence” on continuing negotiations with Iran in hopes of reaching an agreement, no substantive results were achieved between the U.S. and Israel.

Trump wrote that he told Netanyahu that if an agreement could be reached with Iran, “it would be our first choice”; if no agreement could be reached, “we can only wait and see.” He also warned Iran that the last time Iran thought not reaching an agreement was more favorable, the U.S. launched a “midnight hammer” military strike, bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Trump stated that he and Netanyahu also discussed the Gaza issue and the overall situation in the Middle East.