Asian technology stocks fell Thursday, tracking U.S. peers in overnight trading and highlighting global tech sector volatility. Major firms like SoftBank, SK Hynix, and Samsung saw significant declines despite analysts maintaining an optimistic outlook on AI investments.
Japan and the US conducted a joint currency intervention to strengthen the yen after it fell to a four-decade low, impacting the American government-debt market. Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the operation, indicating readiness for further action.
China's CXMT IPO and reported development of deep-ultraviolet lithography tools caused global AI-linked stock drops, particularly for chipmakers like Nvidia, SK Hynix, and Samsung. While CXMT's DRAM chips are complementary to GPUs, China's DUV tools pose a long-term challenge to ASML and potentially Nvidia, leading to significant market jitters.
Goldman Sachs' equities trading business drove significant growth in Q2, with a 72% revenue surge to $7.42 billion, outperforming expectations amid market volatility. Strategic investments and a shift in the Global Banking & Markets group contributed to the success.
South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Lee Eog-weon apologized for failing to meet public expectations amid extreme market volatility, exacerbated by single-stock leveraged ETFs. The FSC announced measures to stabilize the market, including a hike in minimum cash deposits for ETF investments and potential caps on ETF investments within individual portfolios.
Southwest Airlines chartered a ship to transport 12.6 million gallons of jet fuel from Texas to California in May, utilizing a Jones Act waiver, due to high prices and supply concerns. The move highlights the volatility in fuel markets, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions and impacting airline expenses.
Bitcoin dropped below $65,000 to three-day lows as escalating US-Iran tensions caused US stocks to slide and oil prices to rally. Traders offered diverging short-term outlooks for BTC, while rising inflation expectations and a higher probability of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike added to market strain.
Two Chinese AI companies, Moonshot AI and Alibaba, unveiled new models claiming to compete with top US systems like OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol and Anthropic's Claude Fable 5. These open-weight, aggressively priced models have surprised markets, raising concerns about US tech dominance, investment in AI infrastructure, and national security implications, despite years of warnings about China's AI advancements.
Sales of equity-linked securities (ELS) and equity-linked bonds (ELB) in South Korea fell 41.7% in the first half of the year compared to the previous six months, totaling 27.7 trillion won. This decline is attributed to significant stock market volatility and Mideast tensions.
The Indian Rupee depreciated 39 paise against the US dollar, opening at 95.72 and falling to 95.77 due to soaring crude oil prices and escalating Middle East tensions. Concerns over global crude supply disruptions, fueled by Iran's actions in the Strait of Hormuz, dampened market sentiment.
South Korea's financial watchdog chief, Lee Chan-jin, urged asset managers to better protect consumers due to increased market volatility and the rapid growth of the ETF market. Concerns were specifically raised about single-stock leveraged ETFs.
Despite market volatility driven by geopolitical tensions and concerns over AI demand sustainability, top Wall Street analysts are recommending Amazon (AMZN), Marvell Technology (MRVL), and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Analysts cite strengths in cloud, AI infrastructure, and semiconductor demand for their optimistic outlooks.
Despite recent volatility in chip stocks and some companies renting out excess AI capacity, AI executives assert that demand for chips and compute power remains exceptionally high, with "almost unlimited" potential and energy availability as the only real limiter.
بدء تداول أسهم «إس كيه هاينكس» في الولايات المتحدة بقيمة 26.5 مليار دولار يمثل اختباراً لثقة المستثمرين في استدامة موجة الذكاء الاصطناعي، وسط ضغوط على أسهم أشباه الموصلات وتراجعها عن أعلى مستوياتها.
Kazakhstan Temir Zholy's former CEO announced plans for a triple listing in Hong Kong, London, and Kazakhstan by year-end. Hong Kong's exchange anticipates more international issuers in late 2026/2027, with companies seeking favorable market sentiment.
Anduril CEO Brian Schimpf stated the defense tech company is not in a hurry to go public due to current market conditions and high valuations. He believes a successful IPO requires investor returns, and a hype cycle is a bad time to launch. Despite increased demand for defense tech, the IPO market remains tepid.
The People Power Party has identified single-stock leverage ETFs as the primary cause of recent stock market volatility, criticizing the government's policy failures and calling for a thorough investigation into the introduction process of these products.
South Korea's Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol pledged efforts to stabilize livelihoods due to market volatility and Middle East war impacts. He highlighted the need to address economic disparity and foster new growth engines beyond semiconductors and AI.
South Korea's Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol stated the government is considering measures to address issues caused by newly introduced single-stock leveraged ETFs, which are blamed for increased stock market volatility. These ETFs track major companies like Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, contributing to sharp swings in the KOSPI index.
Mirae Asset Securities has raised the margin ratio for some stocks from 20% and 30% to 40% starting November 1st, citing increased market volatility and customer investment risks. The company also temporarily suspended new applications and extensions for its customized margin service.
Bitcoin struggled to reclaim $60,000 on Friday, marking its first daily close below this level since September 2024, as global market volatility, particularly in Asian tech stocks, and rising US inflation concerns weighed on risk assets.
Bitcoin (BTC) dropped to new 21-month lows at $58,035 following high US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation data, which also unsettled stock markets. The price decline triggered over $600 million in crypto liquidations, with analysts suggesting further downside towards $55,000.
MicroStrategy's MSTR and STRC shares crashed to 52-week lows amid Bitcoin volatility and concerns over Michael Saylor's treasury model. Meanwhile, prediction market Kalshi seeks a $40 billion valuation driven by surging sports betting and crypto market volumes, while Coinbase eyes more acquisitions.
Bitcoin (BTC) dropped to $58,035, its lowest point since September 2024, following a surge in US PCE inflation to 4.1%. The news caused significant volatility in stock markets, with the Nasdaq 100 falling 2% in 30 minutes, and triggered over $600 million in crypto liquidations within an hour.
