U.S. tech giants face pressure, leading to heavy sell-offs across global stock markets
Global stock markets fell on Thursday on growing fears of an artificial intelligence bubble, while safe-haven assets such as gold and silver soared along with oil prices. U.S. and European indexes widened their decline from the previous session, reflecting investor caution amid the tech sector's woes and geopolitical tensions. This mixed performance highlights a shift in sentiment as the market digests. federal reserve system Signals and US policy movements under President Donald Trump.
Concerns about AI push down stock prices
Technology stocks led the global decline, with MSCI's global stock index plummeting under pressure from US tech giants. Wall Street closed lower on Wednesday as weak outlooks for companies like Oracle and Broadcom fueled concerns about AI's overvaluation, a trend that continued into early trading Thursday. Investors questioned the sustainability of large data center investments and high valuations and retreated from hyped-up AI businesses.
Asian markets started weaker, with stocks falling as traders shunned tech goods amid a widespread pullback. Gold consolidated after Wednesday's gains, while silver hit a record high on safe-haven demand spurred by expectations for Fed interest rate cuts and President Trump's blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers. Oil prices rose, helped by supply disruptions caused by U.S. sanctions targeting President Nicolas Maduro's government.
US market shakes
The US index showed mixed but mostly negative momentum. The S&P 500 had been swinging near recent highs, but fell after the Federal Reserve suggested it would suspend interest rates, and closed slightly lower after strong employment data dampened expectations for easing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq have followed suit, with the latter falling more than 1% in recent trading on concerns about an AI bubble.
Intraday levels updated on Dec. 18 reflected continued pressure, with the S&P 500 hovering around 6,721.43 (down 1.16 percent), the Dow at 47,885.97 (down 0.47 percent), and the Nasdaq Composite Index at 22,693.32 (down 1.81 percent). Losses in tech stocks outweighed gains in defensive sectors, US Treasury yields rose and the dollar weakened slightly.
Read more | Today's stock market: Nikkei average rises due to S&P 500 index, Euro Stoxx falls due to US employment data and Fed monitoring
European index decline
European markets fell across the board, with the Euro Stoxx 50 index leading the decline due to a slowdown in corporate activity and a rebound in defense stocks due to the Russia-Ukraine peace talks. London's FTSE 100 fell 0.5%, Germany's DAX fell 0.48% to 23,960.59 and the STOXX 600 was flat at 579.78. By Thursday morning EET, the euro Stoxx was trading around 5,684.75 (down 0.58%), reflecting caution ahead of the ECB and BoE meeting.
Asian gatherings decline
Japan's Nikkei stock average, which had rebounded earlier in the week after a weaker yen, joined the global decline and fell 0.84% to around 49,096.00 yen amid a pullback in high-tech products. Other Asian indexes are echoing these sentiments, with investors keeping an eye on U.S. inflation data and central bank decisions. z
