London (AFP) – Asian and European stocks gained while Wall Street slipped Tuesday after rallying from last week’s tech-led rout, with AI titan Anthropic revealing staggering revenue growth ahead of an IPO that could come as soon as next week. Oil prices meanwhile dropped further on rising hopes of a resolution to the US-Iran conflict that has sent inflation surging, forcing central banks to raise interest rates. Higher borrowing costs could jeopardise the massive AI investments that are now facing growing scrutiny after the Democratic victories in last week’s US midterm elections.
Fears of a slower AI data centre buildout sparked heavy selling across the tech sector last week, though buyers have stepped back in, with much of Wall Street opening with further gains Tuesday. Nvidia’s bombshell revelation of an affair between CEO Jensen Huang and a suspected Chinese spy also continued to roil the sector. The AI chip behemoth is now the subject of an FBI investigation. Its shares fell a further four percent at the Wall Street open after a 4.3 percent drop Monday.
The increased AI wariness has taken a toll on Anthropic’s IPO plans, after the maker of artificial intelligence chatbot Claude said it would seek to raise up to $64 billion in its hotly anticipated share sale — well below the estimated $100 billion it was seeking just a few weeks ago. The forecast came in a securities filing in which it revealed that revenue soared to $17 billion in the third quarter, up from just $1.4 billion a year earlier. “The path is not clear for the AI trade, and it may continue to struggle” even if the Anthropic IPO is successful next week, said Kathleen Brooks, research director at the trading platform XTB.
European and Asian stock markets also rose, while the dollar was flat, reversing earlier gains as oil prices — which are priced in dollars — retreated. But most investors now expect a further interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve is all but certain at next month’s policy meeting. “Inflation remains too high,” Fed Governor Christopher Waller said during an address in London, ahead of data showing the US consumer price index rose 0.4 percent in October from the previous month, more than the 0.3 percent analysts expected. That suggested an annualised rate still well above the Fed’s target of two percent.
Brent oil prices fell below $90 a barrel for the first time since August as investors saw reasons for optimism that the US-Iran war could end soon. US President Donald Trump said Monday that there was momentum toward ending the war, as he declared that the country “militarily, is effectively over.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated that outlook at a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Paris, saying: “The economic campaign is so devastating that right now there is no need for major combat operations.” Brent has plunged around 22 percent since the start of November, though it remains well above the levels before the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran in late February.
**Key figures at around 1440 GMT:**
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 52,282.43 points
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,517.18
New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.6 percent at 25,115.42
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 10,788.80
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.9 percent at 8,305.64
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.9 percent at 26,502.45
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.9 percent at 60,459.58 (close)
Seoul – Kospi: UP 4.4 percent at 5,239.13 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 24,557.04 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,663.72 (close)
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 2.9 percent at $89.88 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.5 percent at $84.64 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1184 from $1.1221 on Monday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3384 from $1.3440
Dollar/yen: UP at 158.62 from 157.48 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 83.56 from 83.50 pence
© 2024 AFP
