Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are facing an uncomfortable new price point this week after a $49 weight-loss pill jolted the GLP-1 market.

By launching a low-cost, compounded oral version of semaglutide, Hims & Hers has undercut branded GLP-1 drugs by a wide margin, forcing investors to reassess the durability of Big Pharma’s pricing power.

The market reaction was swift, with shares of Novo Nordisk falling sharply and Eli Lilly also coming under pressure as a long-protected market suddenly looked more fragile.

How the $49 pill undercuts the GLP-1 market

At the centre of the disruption is pricing.

Hims & Hers is offering a compounded oral semaglutide pill for $49 for the first month, followed by $99 per month under a subscription model, sold directly to consumers on a cash-pay basis.

That compares with brand-name oral Wegovy pricing examples, which include approximately $149 to start for certain doses and up to $299 for higher doses or ongoing fills, depending on the dosage and discounts.

The term “compounded” is key.

Unlike branded drugs approved by regulators after years of clinical trials, compounded medicines are prepared by pharmacies to meet patient demand when approved products are unavailable or unaffordable.

They are legal in the US under specific conditions, but they do not go through the same approval process as branded drugs.

For consumers frustrated by insurance hurdles, supply shortages, and high out-of-pocket costs, the appeal is clear.

A lower upfront price reduces the barrier to access.

That is the bet Hims is making, as convenience and affordability will matter more to many patients than brand recognition alone.

For Big Pharma, the concern is not just one product.

If patients become comfortable with compounded alternatives, the premium pricing model that has defined the GLP-1 market begins to look more vulnerable.

Read More: How weight-loss drugs are destroying big snacking, erasing billions in sales

Markets, regulation and stakes for Big Pharma

Investors wasted little time reacting. Novo Nordisk shares fell about 6% on the day, reflecting fears that cheaper alternatives could pressure future margins.

Lilly, which also has significant exposure to the weight-loss drug market, saw its stock come under pressure as well.

Company executives have pushed back.

Novo’s leadership has publicly dismissed compounded alternatives as inferior and unlikely to threaten approved products.

The company argued that safety, consistency, and regulatory oversight will keep patients and doctors loyal to branded drugs.

That defence may soon be tested. Regulators are already scrutinising the expanding use of compounded GLP-1 medications, and a legal and regulatory battle appears likely.

Authorities face a delicate balance between patient safety and access at a time when demand for weight-loss drugs continues to exceed supply.

For now, Hims is operating within existing rules, but the environment could shift quickly. Any tightening of enforcement would raise costs and slow expansion.

Inaction, however, could invite more low-cost entrants and accelerate price competition across the industry.

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Bitcoin’s slide below $65,000 on Thursday jolted markets and forced a simple, uncomfortable question: is this a blunt correction or the start of crypto’s next, messier phase?

The drop was not driven by a single headline but by a confluence of flows and positioning, heavy ETF redemptions, a cascade of forced liquidations and thinner order books.

The result was larger intraday swings and a market where price action is now governed more by mechanics than fresh fundamental news.

Bitcoin below $65,000: Liquidity, leverage and technical levels

What makes the move important is not only the level, but what happens underneath that level.

When liquidity is shallow, even modest sell orders can push prices far lower.

Over recent sessions, analytics firms recorded hundreds of millions in futures liquidations in rolling 24-hour windows, amplifying downturns as exchanges automatically closed the most leveraged long positions.

CoinGlass and other trackers showed elevated forced-liquidation totals and a sharp drop in open interest, underscoring how much levers traders were carrying into the pullback.

Technically, chart watchers are eyeing a cluster of supports in the $62,000–$65,000 band and the 200-week moving average as the next lines in the sand.

Breaches of those levels historically shift investor psychology from “buy the dip” to “wait and see,” making rebounds harder and rallies shorter.

In short, a thinner market plus concentrated leverage equals larger, more violent moves.

What analysts say

Analysts broadly frame this episode as a flow-driven unwind rather than an immediate change to Bitcoin’s long-term fundamentals.

Many see three mechanical drivers- spot ETF outflows removing a steady institutional bid, derivatives liquidations that mechanically accelerate moves, and macro headlines that sap risk appetite.

Katie Stockton, founder of Fairlead Strategies, told Business Insider that a decisive break of major weekly support levels suggests Bitcoin’s cyclical uptrend has likely lost momentum.

Some sell-side notes emphasise that ETF creations/redemptions can turn from a structural tailwind into a persistent drain when investors rotate away.

Strategically, the implications are twofold.

Near term, traders should expect wider intraday ranges and an elevated risk premium, meaning higher volatility and more frequent testing of lower supports.

Medium term, structural recovery depends on demand returning in a meaningful way: fresh institutional inflows, clearer regulatory signals, or tangible on-chain demand that offsets mechanical selling.

Without one of those, price action will remain hostage to positioning and flows.

ETF flow reports and daily creation/redemption tallies; Coinglass/CoinGlass liquidation and open-interest updates; and the $62K–$65K technical band.

If those supports hold and ETFs stabilise, buyers could re-emerge. If they fail, the market risks a deeper, more prolonged drawdown driven by mechanics rather than fresh news.

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Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) is slipping in extended hours even though the titan recorded a massive revenue beat and a standout performance from its cloud division in its fiscal Q4.

The multinational posted $213.39 billion in revenue, handily above the $211.33 billion expected.

But a razor-thin miss on earnings per share (EPS) and a jaw-dropping capex guidance wiped billions off its market cap late on Thursday.

However, the earnings release offered ample reasons for long-term investors to build or grow their positions in Amazon stock on the post-earnings dip, especially now that it’s down some 20% versus its 52-week high.

Why massive capex doesn’t warrant selling Amazon stock

AMZN stock retreated after-hours mostly because executives said capital expenditures were expected to hit $200 billion this year, more than $50 billion higher than analysts’ forecast.

While the “sticker shock” of such a massive number can be daunting, long-term investors should view this not as a drain, but as a defensive moat.

CEO Andy Jassy is clearly signaling that the generative AI revolution is a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity that requires immediate, heavy lifting in data centre infrastructure.

History shows that when Amazon spends big – whether on Prime shipping or AWS’s early days – it eventually yields dominant market share and high-margin returns.

This isn’t reckless burning of cash; it’s the construction of the digital backbone for the next decade of computing.

And it’s not like the investments aren’t already proving rewarding.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) brought in a remarkable $35.58 billion in Q4, even beating the 23% year-on-year growth mark that some analysts ahead of the print said was a must-beat to impress investors.

Therefore, the capex guidance isn’t reckless burning of cash; it’s the construction of the digital backbone for the next decade of computing.

Why EPS miss doesn’t matter much for AMZN shares

While a $1.95 EPS against a $1.97 estimate triggered the initial sell-off, savvy investors know that Amazon’s long-term trajectory is dictated by one engine: AWS.

The cloud unit didn’t just beat – it accelerated to $35.58 billion, proving that the core profit centre is thriving, which made Bernstein’s senior analyst Mark Shmulik reiterate that AWS holds a unique edge over rivals.

“Amazon has the potential to bring on more cloud capacity than any of its big rivals in the coming two years, which creates a sustainable long-term buildout advantage with deep long-standing relationships across the supply chain and continued best-in-class non-AI compute infrastructure to complement.”

Bernstein maintains its $300 price target on Amazon shares, indicating potential upside of a whopping 50% from here.

How to play Amazon.com Inc after Q4 earnings?

Beyond the headlines, the bull case for AMZN shares remains remarkably intact.

AWS didn’t just meet expectations; it accelerated to $35.58 billion, proving that enterprise cloud migration and AI workloads are fueling a powerful second wind for the segment.

Meanwhile, the advertising business continues to be a high-margin powerhouse, raking in $21.32 billion as it outpaces traditional digital ad rivals.

With the stock trading at a more attractive valuation following the post-earnings 10% haircut, investors are essentially getting a world-class AI play and a dominant global retail leader at a discount.

Between efficiency gains in its logistics network and a massive AWS backlog, Amazon’s “dip” looks less like a falling knife and more like a spring-loaded opportunity for those with a long-term horizon.

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The Hang Seng Index has come under pressure in the past few weeks as Hong Kong’s technology companies plunged. It dropped to a low of $26,300, down by over 5% from its highest level this year.

Hang Seng technology stocks are crashing 

The Hang Seng Index has pulled back as many technology stocks continue their freefall this year amid valuation and AI concerns.

Trip.com stock has plunged by 21% this year making it the worst performer in the Hang Seng Index this year. NetEase stock dropped by 13%, while Xiaomi, Meituan, Tencent, and Jd have plunged by over 5% this year. 

The closely-watched Hang Seng Tech Index crashed to $5,300, down by 20% from its highest level in September last year, meaning that it has now entered a bear market.

The ongoing crash also mirrors that of American technology companies, which have slumped sharply this year, erasing billions of dollars in value. NVIDIA’s stock price dropped to $170, down by 20% from its highest level in 2025.

Similarly, Palantir’s stock price dropped to $130 from the all-time high of $208., a move that has erased billions of dollars in value. Microsoft dropped to $393 from the all-time high of $553.

Software stocks like ServiceNow, Intuit, Oracle, and Atlassian have been the most affected, with many of them falling by over 50% from their all-time highs.

Meanwhile, value stocks in the Hang Seng Index are doing better. Sun Hung Kai Properties’ stock soared by 32% this year after China hinted that it would remove the three red lines in the property market. The three rules included features on the liability-to-assets, debt-to-equity, and cash-to-short-term debt ratio.

Xinyi Glass jumped by 29%, while Pop-Mart, China Life Insurance, MTR Corporation, and CK Hutchinson rose by over 20% this year.

This rotation from growth to value is happening in the United States, where popular value ETFs like the Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) have jumped to a record high.

The technology stocks in the Hang Seng Index are also plunging after China announced some tax increases in the country.  China announced a VAT increase on internet services like games and e-commerce.

The Hang Seng Index also reacted to a potential attack on Iran. In a statement, the US Virtual Embassy in Iran issued a security alert asking US citizens in Iran to leave the country, a sign that Trump plans to attack the country, a move that Iran has warned threatens a regional war.

Hang Seng Index technical analysis 

The daily timeframe chart shows that the Hang Seng Index crashed from a high of $28,075 earlier this year to the current $26,580. It dropped below the key support level at $27,425, its highest level in October last year.

The Supertrend indicator has flipped from green to red, while most oscillators have continued moving downwards this year.

Therefore, the most likely scenario is where the index continues falling, with the next key target being the psychological level at $26,000.

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Silver prices continued to drop on Friday as the metal headed for its second weekly decline on a stronger dollar and profit-taking. 

The recent renewed weakness highlighted the extent of the technical damage caused by last Friday’s historic sell-off. 

This development calls into question whether the previously most powerful bull run in metals history can be sustained.

Precious metals plunge deepens

“As highlighted in our previous analysis, the inability of silver to regain the $90/oz threshold and gold’s failure to recapture the $5,000/oz level represented a pivotal technical juncture that suggested additional downside risk remained,” Kitco.com said in a report. 

The bearish outlook was fully confirmed on Friday as both metals came under significant selling pressure, according to the report. 

The price levels that recently provided strong psychological and technical support during the rally have now become challenging resistance barriers.

In a significant and abrupt retreat, gold experienced one of its sharpest single-day declines in recent months, plummeting by $187, or 3.78%, to close at $4,776.40 per ounce. 

This steep drop caused the yellow metal to fall beneath crucial support levels and key moving averages that technical analysts had been closely watching.

At the time of writing, the silver contract on COMEX was at $72.100 per ounce, down almost 6% from the previous close.

On the other hand, gold prices on COMEX struggled to move above $4,900 per ounce as the metal fell 1.1% to $4,835.90 an ounce. 

Silver experienced a volatile session on Friday, initially falling by 10% to below the $65-level—a more than one and half month low—before rallying to post a 3% gain.

Silver prices experienced a significant downturn, falling almost 16% this week.

This follows last week’s performance, which saw its largest weekly drop since 2011, shedding 18%.

Market turbulence and dollar strength

The selloff on Wall Street intensified, leading global equities to extend losses for a third straight session.

This market turbulence also gripped precious metals and cryptocurrencies, resulting in extreme volatility.

The US dollar is set to record its best weekly performance since November, having stabilised near a two-week peak. 

The effect of a stronger dollar is that assets priced in the currency become more costly for those holding other currencies.

Meanwhile, despite a swift rebound from the mid-$4,600s, or a four-day low seen during the Asian session on Friday, the price of gold was not exhibiting sustained upward momentum.

“A turnaround in the risk sentiment – as depicted by a sea of red across the global equity markets – drives flow toward traditional safe-haven assets and acts as a tailwind for the commodity,” Haresh Menghani, editor at FXStreet said in a report. 

Moreover, bets on more interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) in 2026, bolstered by signs of weakness in the US job market, turn out to be another factor offering support to the non-yielding yellow metal.

Weak US data fuels rate cut hopes

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump stated he would have rejected Kevin Warsh as his Federal Reserve Chair nominee had Warsh favored raising interest rates.

Trump further expressed confidence that the US central bank would lower rates.

Traders are currently pricing in a scenario where the US Federal Reserve delivers a minimum of two 25-basis-point rate cuts in 2026, a probability tracked by the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

On the economic front, new applications for unemployment insurance increased to 231,000 for the week ending January 31, according to the US Department of Labor. 

This figure represents a rise from the 209,000 recorded the previous week and exceeded the estimated increase to 212,000.

Additionally, private-sector job growth saw a significant slowdown in January, according to the Automatic Data Processing (ADP) Research Institute. 

Employers added only 22,000 new jobs, falling short of the estimated 48,000 increase and marking a sharp decline from the downwardly revised 37,000 figure reported for the previous month.

Weakening economic data from the US augurs well for precious metals such as gold, as this may lead to the Fed cutting interest rates.

Lower rates benefit gold and silver as they are non-yielding assets. 

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Asian equities, cryptocurrencies, and precious metals came under renewed pressure on Friday as investors pulled back from risk assets, rattled by technology-sector weakness, credit concerns in Southeast Asia, and fresh signs of slowing momentum in the US economy.

Markets across the region reflected a cautious tone, while volatility spilled into commodities and digital assets, underscoring the fragile state of global risk appetite.

Asian markets retreat on tech weakness and Indonesia downgrade

South Korean equities extended losses as investors continued to retreat from technology stocks.

The KOSPI index fell 1.6%, dragging the MSCI gauge of emerging Asian equities down 0.39%.

A broader index of Asian equities excluding Japan slid nearly 2% at one point.

In Seoul, chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dropped 1.2% and 0.2%, respectively, pushing the regional information technology index about 2.4% lower.

Markets were unsettled earlier in the week after AI firm Anthropic unveiled a new legal tool for its Claude chatbot, stoking fears of disruption across the information technology and software services sector.

In Southeast Asia, Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index dropped more than 2.8% in early trade after Moody’s downgraded the country’s credit rating outlook.

The rupiah weakened to 16,878 per US dollar, its lowest level since January 22.

Investor confidence has been hit by concerns over policy uncertainty under President Prabowo Subianto, a widening fiscal deficit, and central bank independence.

Foreign investors pulled $1 billion from Indonesian equities in 2025, with outflows accelerating after MSCI warned of a potential downgrade to frontier-market status and Moody’s outlook cut.

“In the near-term, onshore financial markets are likely to witness knee-jerk weakness due to the outlook change,” DBS analysts said in a report.

TrumpRx website launches with focus on cash-pay drug discounts

In the US, President Donald Trump announced the launch of TrumpRx, a direct-to-consumer website aimed at lowering prescription drug costs.

Trump said millions of Americans would save money through the platform, though it remains unclear how broadly those savings will apply, especially for insured patients.

“You’re going to save a fortune and this is also so good for overall health care,” Trump said at the launch event.

The platform does not sell drugs directly but redirects consumers to drugmakers’ own direct-to-consumer sites or provides discount coupons.

At launch, TrumpRx features medications from AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer.

Analysts note that cash-pay discounts may benefit uninsured or underinsured patients most, while insured consumers may find better pricing through existing coverage.

Silver and gold prices slump amid dollar strength

Precious metals extended losses, with silver heading for its second straight weekly decline as a stronger dollar and profit-taking weighed on prices.

The renewed weakness underscored the technical damage from last week’s historic sell-off.

Gold plunged $187, or 3.78%, to close at $4,776.40 per ounce, falling below key support levels and moving averages.

Silver dropped nearly 6% to $72.10 per ounce, after a volatile session that saw prices briefly fall more than 10%.

Silver has fallen almost 16% this week, following an 18% drop last week, its largest weekly decline since 2011.

Market turbulence intensified as Wall Street extended losses for a third session, while the US dollar headed for its best weekly performance since November.

Bitcoin slides as risk appetite fades

Bitcoin tumbled more than 10% toward $64,000, its weakest level since late 2024, extending a brutal week for cryptocurrencies.

The selloff reversed gains built after Trump’s election win, when he signaled a more supportive stance toward crypto.

The broader crypto market also slid sharply, with Ether falling below $1,900 and total market capitalization dropping to about $2.29 trillion.

CoinGecko data showed the crypto market has lost roughly $2 trillion since its October peak.

Analysts cited ETF outflows, weakening liquidity, and fading risk appetite as key drivers.

Deutsche Bank noted that US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw outflows of more than $3 billion in January, adding to selling pressure as global markets remain on edge.

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Tesla remained a visible player in China’s crowded electric vehicle market in January, even as industry momentum continued to fade.

Data from the China Passenger Car Association showed that deliveries from Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory rose modestly from a year earlier, helping the US automaker maintain its position among the country’s top EV producers.

The figures came as China’s EV sector faced slower growth, intense price competition, and new regulatory pressures.

January shipment trends

According to CPCA data released on Wednesday, Tesla delivered 69,129 China-made vehicles in January, up 9% from 63,238 units a year earlier.

The monthly total placed Tesla third among EV manufacturers operating in China.

BYD led January shipments with 205,518 units, while Geely ranked second with 124,252 vehicles.

Tesla’s year-on-year increase contrasted with the broader slowdown across the market and reflected stable factory output rather than a clear pickup in demand.

The January figures cover total shipments from Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory, which produces the Model 3 and Model Y for China and export markets across Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

Demand signals remain mixed

Indicators of consumer demand remained uneven. New registrations of Tesla passenger vehicles, often used as a proxy for sales, rose slightly in Europe in January.

This suggested exports continued to absorb some of Shanghai’s output, even as demand conditions across key overseas markets stayed subdued.

A separate CPCA data showed Tesla was one of only two manufacturers in China to report a year-on-year decline in total EV sales during 2025, with China-produced deliveries falling 4.8% over the year.

The figures underscored the pressure Tesla faces in defending its position in the world’s largest EV market.

Price competition intensifies

China’s EV price war has weighed on manufacturers across the sector.

Tesla’s base Model 3 is priced at around 235,500 yuan ($33,943), compared with about 79,800 yuan for BYD’s entry-level Seal sedan.

To support demand, Tesla has introduced new financing incentives.

Its Chinese website shows the company offering five-year loans at zero interest, or seven-year loans at ultra-low interest rates, for orders placed before Feb. 28.

Experts have noted that sustained discounting has compressed margins across China’s EV industry, even as regulators urge manufacturers to avoid excessive price competition.

Slower growth and fresh rules

China’s wider EV market continued to cool in January.

CPCA data showed new energy vehicle sales, including battery and hybrid models, rose just 1% year on year, marking a fourth consecutive month of slowing growth.

Policy changes have added further strain. From Jan. 1, Beijing reinstated a 5% purchase tax on new energy vehicles, partially rolling back incentives that had supported sales for more than a decade.

Regulatory pressure is also building on vehicle design.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that from Jan. 1, 2027, all cars sold in China must include mechanical interior and exterior door releases, effectively banning concealed door handles.

Experts have said the rule may pose added challenges for Tesla, given its long-standing use of flush door handles.

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The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices remained in a narrow range this week as some large companies like Shell and Unilever published their earnings, and after the Bank of England delivered its interest rate decision. This article looks at some of the top stocks to watch next week, including BP, AstraZeneca, Coca-Cola, Barclays, NatWest, BAT, Unilever, and Barratt Redrow.

BP share price in focus ahead of earnings 

BP PLC, a top energy giant, will be one of the top FTSE 100 Index stocks to watch next week as the company publishes its financial results.

These results come as its stock has rebounded in the past few months moving from a low of 315p in April last year to a high of 481p this week.

BP shares have jumped because of the ongoing turnaround efforts that pushed the management to focus on oil and gas instead of clean energy. It has also benefited from the rising crude oil prices, with Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rising to over $65 amid the rising geopolitical tensions.

BP’s earnings will likely be weak because of the lower oil prices during the quarter. Just this week, Shell posted the weakest quarterly profits in five years. Its adjusted earnings was $3.26 billion.

Barclays and Natwest 

UK banks will also be in the spotlight next week as some of the biggest ones release their results. Barclays will go first on February 10 followed by Natwest, which will publish its numbers on Friday.

These numbers come as banking stocks have done well in the past few months. Barclays stock has jumped by 56% in the last 12 months, while NatWest rose by 54%. The two shares have dropped sharply in the last two days after the BoE hinted of a rate cut in March.

Barclays earnings will likely be strong because of its investment banking division, which is benefiting from the recovering corporate activity and trading activity. Natwest will also benefit from the rising profits as we experienced with Lloyds.

AstraZeneca 

AstraZeneca, the biggest company in the FTSE 100 Index, will also be in the spotlight this week as it releases its numbers. These results come as the stock has jumped by over 45% from its lowest level in March last year.

The numbers come as the company announced a plan to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and to invest $15 billion of dollars in China through 2030. It also announced a partnership with CSPC Pharmaceuticals to boost its obesity portfolio. It also plans to invest $50 billion in the United States.

Meanwhile, traders will also watch mining companies like Rio Tinto and Glencore, which abandoned their $260 billion merger this year. The two companies failed to agree on the price and governance for the combined company. Glencore wanted to own a 40% stake in the combined company.

The other top companies to watch next week will be Barrett Redrow, PZ Cussons, RELX,  and Schroders. 

Additionally, the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices will react to the upcoming UK GDP data and a potential Trump strike on Iran.

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Kalshi is tightening oversight on its prediction markets platform as betting activity accelerates ahead of the Super Bowl and regulatory scrutiny intensifies.

The company said it is expanding surveillance through an independent advisory committee and new partnerships aimed at detecting insider trading and market manipulation.

The move comes just days before Super Bowl 60, one of the largest betting events in the US, with more than $168 million already wagered on Kalshi’s markets.

The changes reflect growing pressure on prediction platforms to demonstrate stronger controls as trading volumes swell around major events.

Regulators and lawmakers have increasingly questioned whether existing safeguards are sufficient to prevent abuse, particularly when markets are linked to high-profile political or sporting outcomes.

Expanded oversight framework

Kalshi said the new advisory committee will provide quarterly briefings to the company’s outside counsel and publish statistics on investigations into suspicious trading activity.

The company is also partnering with crypto trading surveillance firm Solidus Labs and Daniel Taylor, director of the Wharton Forensic Analytics Lab, to help detect, investigate, and address market abuse.