Global Equities Markets Tank on AI Sustainability, Financing Fears
Global equities markets sank amid rising concerns about AI sustainability and financing, driving sell pressure in top tech stocks in the US, Europe, and Asia.
Market uncertainty — volatile capital markets, AI valuation concerns — forced SK hynix to postpone its plan to take Solidigm public as rivals’ tech majors’ share prices tumble.
Concerns over the sustainability and financing of AI investment drove a technology-led retreat, weighing heavily on major markets, a stockbroking and portfolio management subsidiary of First National Bank (FNB) said in a brief on Friday.
The NASDAQ closed 2.60% lower, and the S&P 500 fell 1.21%, while the Dow Jones ended the session barely higher. The indices mirrored bearish sentiment; Meta’s capital expenditure plans reignited concerns over debt-funded AI infrastructure.
That pressure carried into Europe, where falling metals prices and weakness in banks, resources and technology pushed the Euro Stoxx 50 down 1.94%.
The FTSE 100 closed 0.26% lower, with gains in pharmaceuticals and consumer stocks partly cushioning declines in banks and miners.
Against that backdrop, Asia-Pacific trading is mixed. The Hang Seng Index is up 0.58%, while the Nikkei 225 has fallen 0.94% so far, as technology concerns clash with support from restored Middle East oil exports after exporters bypassed the Strait of Hormuz.
Australia’s ASX 200 closed barely higher, despite persistent rate concerns and subdued manufacturing and services activity.
In South Africa, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is set for a softer open this morning after closing lower in the previous session as global futures drift into negative territory and Asian markets are trading mixed.
Traders said lower US Treasury yields are weighing on the dollar, although the cautious offshore equity signal remains dominant. +Tencent’s 1.12% advance offers a positive read-through for Naspers and Prosus, providing some support at the index level.
On the resources side, the S&P/ASX 300 Metals and Mining Index is down 3.88%, pointing to pressure on diversified miners despite broadly resilient commodity prices. Brent crude is firmer, while modest gains in gold and platinum should lend support to gold miners and PGM counters.
The JSE closed sharply lower on Thursday, with the All Share down 1.03% and the Top 40 down 1.18%, weighed down by a broad sell-off in Resources, which fell 3.18%, as precious metals counters (-3.81%) came under significant pressure.
Platinum group metals (PGMs) and gold miners were hurt by weaker commodity prices and global risk-off sentiment that pushed bond yields higher.
On the corporate front, Clicks slumped 3.56% after full-year earnings missed analyst expectations amid a challenging consumer environment and intensifying competition in the retail pharmacy sector.
Financials proved relatively resilient, easing just 0.23%, while Industrials were the only sector to finish in positive territory, edging 0.05% higher Memory Chip Stocks Selloffs Drag Wall Street, European Markets Mixed
