Asian Stocks Drop After US Selloff, Gold Rebounds: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Asian equities retreated from a record after concerns over the impact of artificial intelligence on some companies spurred a selloff in US technology stocks. Gold and silver recouped some of their losses from the prior session.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.8%, its first decline in six sessions, with roughly two stocks dropping for every one that advanced. Still, the gauge is set for its best weekly gain since September 2024. The Kospi Index in South Korea edged up to buck the overall weakness.

Even so, some signs emerged that markets may be able to find a foothold with US and European equity-index futures edging up. Applied Materials Inc. surged 13% in late trading after an upbeat sales forecast. Gold rose 1% to recover some of Thursday’s losses when algorithmic traders had appeared to amplify the yellow metal’s drop. Bitcoin also edged higher after four days of losses.

Treasuries gave back some of Thursday’s gains, when a risk-off mood in New York drove investors into the perceived safety of US government bonds. Yields on the benchmark 10-year rose almost two basis points to 4.11% as Asian trading progressed.

The sharp swings in US trading reflected the rising stakes tied to the AI boom and the unpredictable ripple effects across sectors, regions and asset classes. The moves also highlighted how quickly shifts in sentiment around AI can reverberate far beyond the technology sector with the emergence of the so-called AI scare trade.

“Software stocks are now trading like banks in 2008,” said Nick Ferres, chief investment officer of Vantage Point Asset Management in Singapore, referring to the global financial crisis. “Asia has performed well so far this year, but I am concerned about correlation to global markets and a tactical unwind,” he said.

Read: AI Angst in US Stocks Sends Global Money Chasing Asia’s Winners

Meanwhile, yield premiums on Asian investment-grade dollar bonds widened about two basis points on Friday, according to credit traders. If that move holds, it would be the biggest increase since October and track a similar rise in spreads on US peers, according to Bloomberg indexes.

In other corners of the market, the dollar was weaker against peers in the Group-of-10 currencies. Oil headed for the first back-to-back weekly drop this year on a risk-off tone in wider markets.

Thursday’s losses erased the year-to-date gains for the S&P 500, which is now down 0.2%. In comparison, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index is up more than 12% this year, building on gains in each of the past three years.

Also, Asian technology shares have performed well with MSCI’s gauge for the sector up 21%. The Kospi Index in South Korea, a poster child for AI investments, has gained 31% and is the world’s best-performing stock market this year.

In contrast to the volatility in the US from AI, the impact on Asian markets have so far been relatively limited due to factors such as “existing oligopolistic market structures being easily maintained,” said Tomo Kinoshita, a global market strategist at Invesco Asset Management Japan Ltd.

“That said, as AI adoption is expected to advance over time, it is highly likely that similar developments to those seen in the US could eventually emerge in Asia as well,” he said.

A key event for markets is coming up later Friday with the release of US January inflation data. The median forecast is predicting a year-over-year increase of 2.5% for the core consumer price index, which strips out food and energy.

Traders continued to assign little chance that Federal Reserve officials will lower rates when they meet next in March, with a July cut fully priced in.

Friday’s inflation print has gained added significance after Wednesday’s jobs numbers indicated strength in the US economy. That prompted traders to pare bets on interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Money markets pushed back bets for an easing to July from June previously.

Markets are complacent on the outlook for US inflation, making trades that pay out if price pressures climb look attractive, said Benjamin Wiltshire at Citigroup Inc. Investors may be underestimating the resilience of the US consumer and market expectations for inflation are likely to be revised slightly higher, he noted.

“Markets seem to have this conviction that inflation is going to come down,” Wiltshire said in an interview. “We’re still in a structurally higher inflation environment.”

Elsewhere, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. upgraded Japan’s stocks on an expected boost from political stability.

Corporate Highlights:

Clear Street Group Inc., a Wall Street broker built on cloud computing technology, has postponed its US initial public offering after cutting the target by nearly two-thirds. OpenAI is releasing its first artificial intelligence model that runs on chips from semiconductor startup Cerebras Systems Inc., part of a push by the ChatGPT maker to broaden the pool of chipmakers it works with beyond Nvidia Corp. Westpac Banking Corp.’s first-quarter profit advanced amid gains in home loans and strong growth in institutional lending. CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. has warned A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S of legal action should the Nordic company’s terminal unit try to take over operations at two ports near Panama’s strategic canal. Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

S&P 500 futures rose 0.1% as of 11:54 a.m. Tokyo time Japan’s Topix fell 1% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.3% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.7% The Shanghai Composite fell 0.4% Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.3% Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was unchanged at $1.1871 The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 153.13 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.9028 per dollar Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin rose 1.3% to $66,631.85 Ether rose 1.3% to $1,948.01 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 4.11% Japan’s 10-year yield declined 1.5 basis points to 2.215% Australia’s 10-year yield declined seven basis points to 4.73% Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.1% to $62.77 a barrel Spot gold rose 1.3% to $4,984.41 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Richard Henderson and Winnie Hsu.

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