Hong Kong (AFP) – Tech firms were again on the back foot Friday after another round of disappointing earnings from Wall Street titans fanned already deep concerns about the AI investment boom. Traders were also keeping an eye on bitcoin, which tumbled after the world’s largest crypto exchange said it had been hit by what analysts warned could be the biggest hack of its kind in the world.
AI-linked tech firms suffered steep losses after Amazon’s quarterly report fell short of analyst expectations on profit and revenue, and Intel’s expected income missed estimates owing to weak demand for PC processors and supply-chain problems. The announcements came a day after Google parent Alphabet reported soft growth in revenue from advertising and its search business, while saying it would ramp up capital expenditure.
Alphabet plunged more than 12 percent, while Amazon tanked more than seven percent in after-hours trade — having lost more than four percent before the close — while Intel cratered 23 percent. The Nasdaq finished down more than one percent. And the selling continued in Asia, where South Korean chipmaker SK hynix dived almost nine percent and rival Samsung lost more than six percent. Japanese semiconductor firm Kioxia shed more than nine percent, as did Advantest, while SoftBank skidded around seven percent. TSMC in Taiwan lost more than one percent.
“This earnings season has been tough on AI players, with most getting punished against a backdrop of AI bubble and inflation fears,” Anna Wu, of Floodlines Research, said. “The concern isn’t that AI demand has already slowed. It’s that higher funding costs and credit risk could eventually force hyperscalers to slow their build-out.” The selloff hit most broader markets in the region, with Seoul diving more than five percent, Tokyo shedding more than two percent and Taipei more than three percent. There were also losses in Shanghai, Singapore and Manila, though Hong Kong, Sydney and Wellington rose.
Friday’s retreat was a far cry from the optimism seen earlier in the week, when SK hynix said operating profit soared 632 percent and AI giant Anthropic reported a first-half revenue surge of about 1,300 percent in its IPO filing.
– Iran fears lift oil –
The results have been unable to soothe investor worries about the eye-watering amounts firms are pumping into AI and when that will see a profit, while surging borrowing costs are fueling fears over company finances. Focus is now turning to Tuesday’s US midterm elections and the impact they could have on the final two years of Donald Trump’s presidency, with some speculating that he could ramp up his war on Iran, which could send oil spiking again.
“There’s been a lot of talk that once these are out of the way, the US could go all shock and awe on Iran? I’m not sure how the midterms would affect that if he loses control of both Houses,” Michael Hewson at MCH Market Insights said. “Does the outcome matter for the markets? Probably not, although a crude oil price which moves above $120 a barrel could well be another story. This remains a much bigger risk for markets than anything the US midterms might bring about.”
Fears of a ramping up in US-Iran hostilities were stoked by a report in the Wall Street Journal saying Trump’s top Middle East commander had briefed him on military options for Tehran. Both main contracts jumped more than two percent, with Brent heading towards $120 a barrel for the first time since April.
Bitcoin tumbled around five percent to a one-month low of around $76,400 after crypto platform Binance said it had fallen victim to a major hack and indicated that more than $2.5 billion in funds had been frozen in an effort to prevent a massive theft. The world’s largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes posted a series of sometimes contradictory messages on X, insisting that “user funds are completely safe” but also saying it would “cover all losses.” The scope of the heist was not immediately known, but blockchain analytics company Chainalysis said it estimated the amount stolen to be around $5.912 billion — almost four times the record $1.5 billion taken last year from Bybit.
– Key figures at around 0230 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 2.5 percent at 63,019.78 (break)
Seoul – Kospi: DOWN 5.3 percent at 5,622.56
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.1 percent at 23,219.48
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.0 percent at 3,615.76
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.4 percent at $104.47 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: UP 2.2 percent at $117.40 per barrel
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1194 from $1.1164 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3391 from $1.3365
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.54 yen from 157.92 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 83.60 pence from 83.54 pence
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 52,342.56 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 10,722.07 (close)
© 2024 AFP
