Tech Stock Selloff Stalls as Silver Plunges Again: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — A global slump in technology stocks paused on Thursday as traders debated whether a selloff spanning everything from software shares to chipmakers had gone too far. Silver tumbled anew.

Futures for the Nasdaq 100 were little changed after the benchmark erased its 2026 gains over the prior two sessions. European stocks dropped 0.5%, dragged lower by mining and auto stocks. Asian shares earlier tracked US losses, led by a 3.9% drop in South Korea’s Kospi index. S&P 500 contracts were flat.

Traders are weighing whether the flight from tech has been excessive, driven by concerns over disruption from artificial intelligence, lofty valuations and vast capital outlays. A key test for broader calm will come when Alphabet Inc. trades in Thursday’s premarket, after Google’s owner was hit in late trading on a spending forecast that was far higher than expected.

Outside of tech, attention was squarely on precious metals. Silver plummeted as much as 17% as the commodity struggled to find a floor following a historic rout. Gold fell toward $4,900 an ounce. Bitcoin briefly traded below $70,000.

“Three quarters of software stocks are in oversold territory, and the momentum trade that has been the way to play tech and software last year now is under severe pressure,” said Andrea Gabellone, head of global equities at KBC Securities. “I expect reason to come back to the table and a rebound shortly, probably a selective one.”

The pound fell to the lowest against the dollar in two weeks, while the yield gap between two- and 10-year gilts hit the widest since 2018 as a fresh round of political turbulence weighed on UK assets.

Doubts are building over Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s grasp on power, driving up the risk premium demanded by investors. Starmer has come under growing pressure over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, despite knowing about his connection to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The Bank of England and European Central Bank are scheduled to announce their latest interest-rate decision on Thursday, with policymakers at both institutions expected to stand pat. The euro was little changed.

While AI-driven selloffs have surfaced in the past, nothing rivals the rout rippling through stock and credit markets this week. With the US economy proving resilient, investors are rotating into other sectors that stand to benefit from faster economic growth.

“Things appear somewhat shaky at a surface level, but I’d argue things are considerably more resilient,” said Michael Brown, senior strategist at Pepperstone. “There are both ‘push’ factors driving this churn, as participants take an increasingly skeptical view of the AI theme, as well as ‘pull’ factors amid increasing signs of robustness in the underlying US economy.”

What Bloomberg Strategists Say…

“Silver’s volatility pricing is approaching a record, a reflection of the market’s fear that wild swings will be the only constant in the short term. While the earlier tumble from record levels may have looked steep and prompted dip-buying, spot silver is just at more neutral levels, and far from entering oversold zones.”

— Ven Ram, Markets Live strategist. For the full analysis, click here.

Corporate Highlights:

BNP Paribas SA’s stock rose after it beat expectations and raised some targets, boosting Chief Executive Officer Jean-Laurent Bonnafe and his plan to prop up a lender that has long lagged peers. Alphabet Inc. topped projections for quarterly revenue and outlined an ambitious capital spending plan, far surpassing predictions. Shell Plc said its fourth-quarter profit slumped, undershooting expectations as lower crude prices, a weak oil-trading performance and a struggling chemicals business dented earnings. Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.4% as of 8:59 a.m. London time S&P 500 futures were little changed Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.1% The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 1.4% Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1802 The Japanese yen was little changed at 157.01 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.9389 per dollar The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.3603 Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin fell 2.4% to $70,905.37 Ether fell 0.8% to $2,107.62 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.26% Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.86% Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 4.56% Commodities

Brent crude fell 1.4% to $68.47 a barrel Spot gold fell 1.1% to $4,911.78 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Anand Krishnamoorthy.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.