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| A screen in the window of Nasdaq’s headquarters in Times Square in New York City yesterday. Bryan R. Smith/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
China’s A.I. advances spook Big Tech investors
A.I. advances by Chinese upstarts rattled U.S. markets yesterday, wiping hundreds of billions of dollars from the leading tech indexes. Falling tech stocks also dented market indexes in Europe and Japan, and the dollar slipped against the currencies of major U.S. trading partners.
The slide came days after the Chinese A.I. company DeepSeek said it could match the abilities of cutting-edge chatbots while using a fraction of the specialized computer chips that leading A.I. companies rely on. The news prompted investors to rethink the valuations of companies like Nvidia, whose equipment powers the most advanced A.I. systems. (Here’s what to know about DeepSeek.)
The overall tech sector of the S&P 500 has had a rocky start to the year, losing about 4 percent of its value, while every other major sector has gained over the same period. Because of the tech industry’s size and influence, this has weighed on the S&P 500 index, which is up about 2 percent for the year.
Big Tech: Shares of Microsoft and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, both of which have bet heavily on A.I., fell yesterday by 2.1 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively. Oracle dropped almost 14 percent. SoftBank shed more than 8 percent during trading in Tokyo. Meta and Apple bucked the trend, posting gains.
Nvidia: Shares of the chip company plunged 17 percent, and the company lost roughly $600 billion in market value, on what was its worst trading day since the pandemic sell-off in March 2020.
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| Displaced Palestinians on their way to northern Gaza yesterday. Eyad Baba/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
Joyful but anxious, Gazans headed for home
Thousands of displaced Palestinians yesterday began the painful trek home after months of displacement. Some wore flip-flops; others trudged with toddlers in their arms and mattresses over their shoulders. One young boy dragged his possessions on a sled.
For nearly 16 months, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from northern Gaza have lived in tents, barred by Israel from returning home after being driven south by the military offensive against Hamas. Yesterday, shortly after sunrise, some were permitted to begin the journey back after the Israeli military finally withdrew from Gaza’s coastal road.
It was a moment steeped in symbolism for Palestinians, who have been defined by repeated displacement and exile since the foundation of Israel in 1948, when hundreds of thousands of their ancestors were expelled or fled from their homes.
On the ground: The people in transit formed a human column that stretched as far as the eye could see — miles in length and some 20 people abreast. Rarely has such an uncomfortable journey felt like such relief. “We’re so overjoyed,” one student said.
From the region:
| The Palestinian Islamic Jihad released a video of Arbel Yehud, who is believed to be one of the last female Israeli hostages still in Gaza.Cease-fires in Gaza and Lebanon, despite significant tests, are likely to hold for now, analysts said. |
| The Israeli military raided the home of a newly freed Hamas member in Jerusalem. Soldiers detained one person and assaulted others, including a Times reporter.European foreign ministers agreed on a phased “road map” for lifting financial restrictions on Syria.At least two people were killed in southern Lebanon yesterday when Israeli forces, for the second day in a row, fired toward residents who were trying to go home, Lebanese officials said. |
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| President Trump’s successful tariff threat against Colombia may inform how he approaches future disputes. Kenny Holston/The New York Times |
Mapping Trump’s rapid escalation tactics
President Trump’s first head-to-head confrontation with a Latin American ally — a blowup over deportation flights to Colombia — was resolved in roughly 12 hours, with a complete retreat by Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro.
The success of Trump’s threat to impose crushing tariffs may inform how the president approaches future disputes, including with Denmark, from which he wishes to take over Greenland, and Panama, where Secretary of State Marco Rubio is supposed to land in a few days to demand control of the Panama Canal.
The clash suggested that Trump was ready to make an example of Colombia as countries around the world grapple with how to prepare for the mass deportations he has promised.
Help wanted: Amid threats and tensions, nations including Denmark and Panama have sought out lobbyists with ties to the new president.
Other news from the Trump administration:
| Trump threatens; President Vladimir Putin of Russia flatters. Here’s how to interpret their exchanges.Oil and gas executives are welcoming Trump’s early moves on energy policy, but many said they did not plan to increase oil production unless prices rose significantly.A federal inmate sued the Trump administration over an executive order requiring that transgender women be housed with male prisoners.Cabinet hearings are expected this week for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health secretary, Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Kash Patel for F.B.I. director. |
| MORE TOP NEWS |
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| Czarek Sokolowski/Associated Press |
| World War II: Dozens of world leaders joined a dwindling group of Nazi death camp survivors to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Germany: Days before the event at Auschwitz, Elon Musk spoke at a rally for the hard-right Alternative for Germany party, saying that the country had “too much of a focus on past guilt.” (Read about how the German far right could find a route to power.) Ukraine: A standoff at a procurement agency over the firing of a top official has threatened to disrupt the country’s supply of weapons. New Zealand: The country has relaxed visa requirements for “digital nomads” in an effort to stimulate economic growth. Energy: A hydropower dam in quake-prone Tibet is set to be the world’s biggest. But China has said little about the mysterious project, and neighboring countries have concerns. Sweden: The authorities boarded a ship in connection with what they called “gross sabotage” after an undersea communications cable in the Baltic Sea was damaged. Publishing: Dark Horse Comics said it would no longer work with Neil Gaiman and canceled further publication of his “Anansi Boys” series over sexual assault claims against him. Africa: The M23 militia, which is funded and directed by Rwanda, said it had seized the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. See photos from the ground. |
| Canada: What soured voters on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau? Unmet promises of a better life — and the high cost of groceries and homes. |
| SPORTS NEWS |
| Soccer: Luis de la Fuente has extended his head-coaching contract with the Spanish men’s national team until Euro 2028.Tennis: Aryna Sabalenka is a tennis superstar. Why don’t her endorsements and brand deals match up?Formula 1: Recapping Lewis Hamilton’s first week at Ferrari. |
| MORNING READ |
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| Will Warasila for The New York Times |
Bird flu has entered a dangerous new phase. A human pandemic is not inevitable, scientists say, but the outbreak has recently passed worrisome milestones.
“I’m still not pack-my-bags-and-head-to-the-hills worried,” one influenza expert said, “but there’s been more signals over the past four to six weeks.”
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
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| Malin Fezehai for The New York Times |
Electrifying Africa
The leaders of more than half of Africa’s nations this week are committing to the biggest burst of spending on electric-power generation in African history — at least $35 billion to expand electricity across a continent where more than a half-billion people still don’t have it.
“Without electricity, we can’t get jobs, health care, skills,” said Ajay Banga, the president of the World Bank. The success of electrification, he added, is “foundational to everything.”
But despite the political will behind the effort, many in Africa’s power sector are deeply skeptical. Recently, a major U.S. maker of solar minigrids tried to go into business in Tanzania. When it closed up shop, thousands were left powerless and frustrated.
| RECOMMENDATIONS |
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| Linda Xiao for The New York Times |
Cook: Make delicious chili oil wontons for Lunar New Year. (Here are more of our favorite dumpling recipes.)
