QQQ edges lower while SPY lags as chip controls and tariff disputes meet firm labor data

QQQ opened 0.25% lower and SPY 0.20% lower, then stood down 0.20% and 0.44% by 4:00 a.m. ET the next day, leaving QQQ ahead by 0.24 percentage point. Weekly initial jobless claims were 213,000 versus 215,000 expected, while fourth-quarter nonfarm productivity rose 2.8% versus a 1.9% estimate. The United States planned to extend AI-chip export licensing globally for companies including NVIDIA and AMD. Toyota planned to cut output of Middle East-bound vehicles by nearly 40,000 for two months amid the Strait of Hormuz closure. Twenty-four states planned to challenge the new 10% global tariff, while the Federal Reserve ended a 2018 Wells Fargo consent order.