Silver Drops, Global Tech Stock Selloff Increases – Asia Market Wrap

A drop in technology stocks spread to Asia, as investors reduced their holdings due to rising concerns about inflated valuations and growing AI spending.

MSCI’s Asian technology index fell for the sixth time in six sessions on Thursday, led by Samsung Electronics and SoftBank. South Korea’s Kospi Index, a poster child for AI investments, led the decline, falling 3.5%. Sentiment was further harmed as Alphabet, Qualcomm, and Arm Holdings declined in extended trade after disappointing earnings. US equities index futures fell.

European shares were also expected to fall at the start of trading. The British Pound and Euro fell slightly ahead of rate announcements by the BoE and the ECB. Both are anticipated to stand pat.

Outside of technology, the focus was completely on precious metals. Silver fell as much as 17%, while gold fell as much as 3.5%, as the commodities battled to establish a price floor after a record market crash. Bitcoin continued its losses and briefly approached $70,000 on the back of low risk sentiment.

Oil declined for the first time in three days as Iran announced it will hold talks with the US, reducing the immediate risk of military attacks against the OPEC producer.