DeepSeek panic eases as crypto and stock markets reset focus

Wall Street shrugged off the chaos. Traders who had been panicking just days ago—thanks to the tech meltdown triggered by DeepSeek’s overhyped claims—woke up on Friday with some relief.

Microsoft suffered a 6.18% crash earlier in the week, shaving billions off its market value. The company’s mixed earnings and slow AI growth projections left traders dumping. But Google pulled off a win, gaining 2.79%, while Meta surged 1.55%, drawing funds from cautious traders who preferred AI bets with clearer returns.

Tech bounces, but caution splits the sector

Apple dipped slightly, down 0.74%, with traders sitting on the sidelines, waiting for its product sales to give a clearer signal. Nvidia, meanwhile, crawled up by 0.77% as institutional investors maintained positions. Broadcom’s 4.51% spike proves that AI-driven chip demand is still strong.

Retail stocks exposed how divided investor sentiment really is. Amazon fell 1.03%, after the weaker-than-expected holiday sales and concerns over consumer credit strain. Walmart rose 1.18%, and Costco added 1.55%. If consumers are spending, they’re sticking to essentials.

Berkshire Hathaway gained 0.66%, while JPMorgan added 0.62%, and Bank of America decreased by 0.06%. But private equity giant Blackstone wasn’t so lucky, falling 4.10% as rising interest rates crushed deal-making activity.

Healthcare stocks thrived as capital rotated into safe havens. Eli Lilly rose 2.38%, UnitedHealth gained 1.39%, and Johnson & Johnson added 1.14%. “This is recession-proof territory,” said Nvidia. Tesla jumped 2.87%, fueled by speculation that regulatory perks and EV demand recovery were driving gains. Plus, Elon Musk’s act at yesterday’s shareholder meeting was truly very cool.

Just when things looked calmer, President Donald Trump decided to announce plans to slap 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico starting February 1. Speaking to reporters from the Oval, the president said:

“We’ll be announcing the tariffs on Canada and Mexico for a number of reasons. Number one, the people that have poured into our country so horribly and so much. Number two are the drugs, fentanyl and everything else that have come into the country. Number three are the massive subsidies that we’re giving to Canada and Mexico in the form of deficits.”

Market watchers warned the tariffs could add pressure to already shaky U.S. inflation metrics if consumer goods prices spike.

Bitcoin and Ethereum face resistance

Meanwhile, crypto markets aren’t exactly riding a rocket right now. Bitcoin was worth $104,237 at press time and faces stiff resistance at $104,750. The DeepSeek sell-off had affected this market too, but Bitcoin rebounded much faster than stocks.

This is because the US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell made some comments about crypto that could only be seen as positive. He said he was willing to support banks in offering crypto services to their clients.

Still though, the bulls keep trying and failing to break past any of the moving averages. On the BTC/USD chart, the RSI indicators show that BTC briefly hit oversold zones but couldn’t build enough buying power to surge higher after hitting $105,000.

But of course Ethereum isn’t doing any better. Trading at $3,238, ETH faces rejection at $3,260. It’s forming lower highs, a sign that bears are still in control.

Support sits at $3,230, with critical support at $3,210. $3,260 needs to be smashed too for any recovery to kick in. But to be honest, Ether’s performance has consistently been so weak that it almost feels silly to have any kind of hope at this point.

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