London (AFP) – Stock markets fell Tuesday, giving back earlier gains as US technology stocks turned lower after weeks of solid gains on renewed doubts about prospects for AI names. Oil prices fell meanwhile, with Brent crude briefly dipping below $90 per barrel for the first time since April 14, after US President Donald Trump hinted at a deal with Iran in the coming days, despite renewed strikes by Israel on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
After opening higher, Wall Street indexes were solidly in the red, led by steep declines for tech heavyweights. Apple shares were down more than four percent after lackluster reviews for an AI update to its Siri voice assistant, spurring caution among investors who have seen tech valuations push equity markets into record territory. The downturn followed heavy selling last Friday after strong US jobs data that raised the prospect of higher US interest rates to curb inflation, which would raise borrowing costs for AI firms planning massive spending on chips and data centres.
“Investors remain cautious after the sharp selloff at the start of the week,” said Anna Macdonald, investment strategy director at Hargreaves Lansdown. OpenAI’s announcement that it had applied for an IPO of its shares—just as Elon Musk’s SpaceX is prepping a record-smashing share sale this week—also suggested that investors were selling their tech holdings to buy into the new offerings. However, “the IPOs of SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI are less about buying into a business and more about buying into an idea,” noted Katherine Brooks, research director at trading platform XTB.
Earlier in Asia, bargain buying saw Seoul’s Kospi index surge on Tuesday after plunging more than eight percent on Monday, tracking the pre-weekend tech sell-off on Wall Street. European indexes also retreated before the close, with London leading the downturn owing to a decline in the share price of British drugs giant GSK, which announced an all-cash $10.6 billion takeover of US cancer specialist Nuvalent. Frankfurt and Paris stock markets had gained earlier after official data showed that industrial production in Europe’s biggest economy Germany rose slightly in April alongside its exports.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said negotiations over a peace deal to end the Middle East war were in their final stages and a deal could come in “two or three days.” “The market has heard that before, and even though it has yet to see an actual deal, it continues to respect the possibility,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare. However, Trump muddied the waters by later saying that the US “must” respond after Iran shot down a US military helicopter. Investors are focusing next on Wednesday’s release of US inflation figures, which could play a key role in the Federal Reserve’s rate decision-making.
The consumer price index is expected to hit 4.2 percent, which would be the highest level in more than three years. Such a reading would almost ensure a rate hike by the Fed in the coming months. The European Central Bank is also widely expected to raise rates by 25 basis points at its meeting on Thursday to counter the surge in eurozone inflation since the Middle East war sent oil and gas prices soaring.
– Key figures at around 1640 GMT –
New York – DOW: DOWN 1.0 percent at 50,269.97 points
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 2.1 percent at 7,253.27
New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 3.4 percent at 25,055.71
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 1.4 percent at 10,227.33 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 8,203.43 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.7 percent at 24,433.06 (close)
Seoul – Kospi: UP 8.2 percent at 8,096.93 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.2 percent at 65,416.63 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.4 percent at 24,565.90 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.3 percent at 4,010.03 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1536 from $1.1531 on Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3367 from $1.3341
Dollar/yen: UP at 160.42 yen from 160.21 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.32 pence from 86.44 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 4.4 percent at $90.12 a barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 5.3 percent at $86.48 a barrel
© 2024 AFP
