Tech Stock Selloff Deepens on Earnings, Bonds Rise: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Technology shares sold off for a second consecutive day as another round of disappointing earnings accelerated a rotation out of the artificial intelligence trade and drove investors toward haven assets such as Treasuries. Crude oil gained.
Futures for the Nasdaq 100 Index slid 2% after earnings from Amazon.com Inc. and Intel Corp. raised fresh concerns about capital expenditure. Amazon slumped 7.3% in extended trading, while Intel plunged 23%. Bitcoin fell 0.5% to about $78,400 after Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, suspended all deposits and withdrawals as it investigated a suspected hack.
Brent crude rose 1.4% to $116.45 a barrel on signs the US may resume military strikes against Iran, risking fresh turbulence in the region and hurting energy flows. Gold dropped below $4,000 an ounce, while silver slipped 2% and was poised for its weakest close since November.
As risk sentiment worsened, traders sought safety in haven assets such as the Swiss franc and Treasuries. The Swiss currency was the biggest gainer against the dollar among Group-of-10 peers, while Treasuries rose across the curve. The yen held its gains as the Bank of Japan kept its policy settings unchanged as economists had predicted.
After a three-day rally this week, technology stocks turned lower on Thursday as Alphabet Inc.’s shares posted a record drop following its results announcement. Traders sold off Samsung Electronics Co.’s stock after the company’s earnings missed estimates and it delayed the release of its shareholder return plan.
“This earnings season has been tough on AI players, with most getting punished against a backdrop of AI-bubble and inflation fears,” said Anna Wu, an investment strategist and founder of Floodlines Research. “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 latest earnings have deepened doubts over the AI trade, raising questions about whether heavy spending can generate returns quickly enough to justify lofty valuations. Even so, the damage has largely been confined to tech, with more than 400 S&P 500 Index members advancing Thursday as investors rotated into more defensive stocks and haven assets.
What Bloomberg Strategists Say…
“Bonds are back as go-to havens and Treasuries are leading the charge. Treasury 10-year yields are sliding further on Friday, bringing the cash rate below the level it was in September when the Federal Reserve raised interest rates.”
— Mark Cranfield, MLive Strategist. For full analysis, click here.
The Kospi Index — a key barometer of the global AI trade — fell 4.7%, set for its biggest drop in two weeks. Samsung shares lost 4.5% on Friday, following a 4.1% drop in the previous session. SK Hynix shares sank 8%.
As chip heavyweights sold off, investors rotated into energy and consumer stocks, still pulling the regional MSCI Asia Pacific Index down 1.4%. While tech was the biggest loser, eight of the gauge’s 11 subgroups advanced as traders continued to rotate out of the hottest trade of the year and into sectors such as healthcare and consumer.
“The broader message is that investors want more than AI promises,” said Greg Boland, a market strategist at broker Moomoo. “With technology valuations stretched, the market is demanding clearer evidence that heavy investment will deliver profits and cash flow, driving risk-off sentiment across tech stocks and spilling into Asian markets.”
Meanwhile, a rally in Treasuries gathered pace in Asia as a selloff in US tech stocks drove investors to the safety of US government debt.
Treasury yields dropped at least two basis points across the curve, extending declines from the New York session. Bonds in Australia, Japan and New Zealand tracked the moves, with yields on the respective benchmark 10-year notes falling around five basis points.
Benchmark Treasury yields have dropped almost 40 basis points in October to head for their first monthly decline since February.
“Bonds are rallying this morning with another safe-haven swoon after the tech results this week,” said Kenneth Crompton, head of rates strategy at National Australia Bank in Sydney.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures fell 0.9% as of 2:58 p.m. Tokyo time Japan’s Topix fell 1.2% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.7% The Shanghai Composite fell 0.6% Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.5% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1% The euro was little changed at $1.1183 The Japanese yen was little changed at 157.63 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.6547 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 0.6% to $78,351.63 Ether fell 0.9% to $2,235.79 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.92% Japan’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 2.775% Australia’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 5.12% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.3% to $103.36 a barrel Spot gold fell 0.7% to $3,991.45 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Winnie Hsu, Carmeli Argana, Matthew Burgess and Suvashree Ghosh.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
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