Asian shares slip as sharp drops for AI stocks overwhelm markets worldwide and oil prices jump
Asian shares were mostly lower Friday after the latest shudder for artificial-intelligence stocks weighed on markets around the world, giving the benchmark S&P 500 its worst day since July.
Oil prices were hovering at their highest levels since May on worries about the war with Iran, with Brent crude up 0.5% at $113.73 per barrel. U.S. benchmark crude oil added 0.6% to $100.08 per barrel.
In share trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.7% to 61,825.26, while the Kospi in South Korea declined 2.4% to 5,403.32.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.2% to 22,983.80 and the Shanghai Composite index slipped 1.3% to 3,610.52.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.2% to 8,777.00.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 1.2%, while the Nasdaq composite tumbled 2.6%. The weakness for tech stocks was so overwhelming that it masked strength for the rest of the U.S. market, where the majority of stocks actually rose. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added less than 0.1%.
AI-related stocks have been swinging on worries that their boom may be under threat because of how expensive it’s become to borrow money to build data centers and buy more AI chips. Investors fear their prices shot too high during a yearslong frenzy, even though companies in the industry continue to report growth.
Meta Platforms, which is pushing its Muse AI agent, lost 7% after reporting stronger revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its profit fell short. The company behind Facebook and Instagram also said it’s creating a new class of stock to raise money to pay for AI investments and other expenses.
Tesla fell 3.1% after reporting a stronger profit for the summer than analysts expected, though its revenue was weaker than forecast.
The global tide against AI stocks knocked Nvidia down 4.4%. Because the chip giant is the largest company on Wall Street by total value, movements for its stock carry more weight on the S&P 500 than any other, and it was the single strongest force pulling the index lower.
CoreWeave, which has borrowed money to buy Nvidia’s AI chips that it rents out to customers over the cloud, has been particularly shaky in recent weeks because of worries about its debt. It dropped 10.1%.
Higher oil prices also have been weighing on stocks. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil leaped 4% on Thursday and has shot up from less than $97 at the start of the month on uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the global energy industry to return to normal.
Worries about big government debt loads and strained budgets are hanging over almost every developed economy. Protests across France have raised pressure on the government to increase spending, which could add further to its debt.
