Last night and this morning, what began as a peaceful and steady trading day for U.S. stocks turned unexpectedly tumultuous during the last half-hour before the closing bellTraders, who had been enjoying a rising market, suddenly found themselves confronting a baffling moment that sent ripples of confusion through the trading floor.

By the end of the trading session, the S&P 500 index had risen by 0.53%, settling at 6071.17 points; the Nasdaq composite eked out a 0.25% gain to close at 19681.75 points; while the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.38%, ending the day at 44882.13 pointsSuch mixed results reflect the inherent volatility of the markets.

As is often the case, the abrupt downturn in the latter half hour caught many investors off guard, leading to some frantic trading as the indices plunged before a last-minute rally allowed them to maintain their overall upward trendMore insights are expected to shed light on this situation later today as analysts scramble to understand the underlying factors.

Despite the unexpected bumps, Chinese concept stocks exhibited a remarkable performance on Thursday, continuing to rise impressivelyThe Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index surged by 4.33%, marking its largest single-day gain since December 9 of last yearAmong the standout performers was Alibaba, which saw a 6.22% increase, particularly noteworthy for a company that continued to unveil AI products during the festive Lunar New Year period.

Alibaba’s AI flagship model, the Qwen2.5-Max, was announced on Thursday, priced at $1.60 per million tokens for input and $6.40 for outputThis advanced model, launched on the first day of the Lunar New Year, has impressively outperformed key competitors like OpenAI, Meta, and DeepSeek in several benchmark tests, indicating Alibaba's robust capabilities in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

As the earnings reports have come pouring in during this season, the technology giants in the U.S. stock market showed a mixed performance

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Apple saw a decline of 0.74%, while Microsoft dropped 6.18% due to slower growth in its cloud businessOn the contrary, Nvidia managed to rise by 0.77%, Google-A increased by 2.79%, and Intel rose by 1.32%, showcasing the fluctuating fortunes of major tech playersTesla, still reeling from its earnings report, enjoyed a 2.87% bump, while Meta surged by 1.55% and IBM impressively rose by 12.96%, reflecting strong corporate results.

In a broader view, China's concept stocks collectively surged on Thursday, demonstrating a vivid scene of investment pouring back into Chinese assetsAlibaba rose by 6.22%, JD.com increased by 5.07%, Baidu 5.76%, and Pinduoduo by 3%. Other notable gainers included Bilibili, which rose 4.83%, NIO by 5.21%, and NetEase by 3.95%. The resurgence in Chinese stocks hints at renewed investor confidence in emerging market opportunities, particularly within the tech sector.

In the realm of corporate news, several key announcements have caught the market’s attention recentlyShell Oil reported a significant decline in profits coupled with rising debt levels; its fourth-quarter net income hit only $3.66 billion, markedly lower than the previous year’s $7.31 billionThis drop came as a result of substantial losses in its chemical division, weakened oil and gas trade, and the expiration of certain liquefied natural gas hedge contractsDespite these challenges, Shell maintained its shareholder returns, including a $3.5 billion stock buyback and a 4% hike in dividends.

Meanwhile, UPS provided a striking forecast for 2025, predicting a shrink in revenue primarily due to the halted growth in shipping volumes with its largest client, AmazonUPS plans to reduce its shipping volume to Amazon by more than 50% by late 2026, an unexpected pivot that left analysts scrambling for clarity regarding the strategic thinking behind this decisionA persistent soft demand for high-margin overnight services and commercial freight has also harmed UPS’s revenue outlook, culminated in a staggering 14.11% drop in its stock price, stirring widespread concern about UPS's future path.

To tackle these challenges, UPS is seeking to optimize its revenue per shipment while expanding its logistics services with e-commerce platforms like Temu and Shein

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