Meanwhile, a Bank of America survey of fund managers found that more than half thought AI stocks were already in a bubble and 45 per cent thought that that was the biggest “tail risk” to markets, more so than inflation.
That came after the BBC released an interview with the head of Google’s parent company Alphabet – Sundar Pichai – who warned that every company would be impacted if the AI bubble were to burst.
After a mixed start to the day, Asia mostly fell into negative territory.
Tokyo was weighed down by simmering China tensions after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan, which have seen the two sides warn citizens about travel to the other.
The row escalated on Wednesday as media reports said China would suspend imports of Japanese seafood.
Japanese investors are also concerned about the country’s fiscal state ahead of an economic stimulus package that has pushed government bond yields to record highs. Soft demand for the Bank of Japan’s latest bond sale added to unease among investors.
Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Wellington, Bangkok and Jakarta also fell, but there were gains in Shanghai, Manila and Mumbai.
London edged up as data showed UK inflation eased slightly in October.
Frankfurt also rose, but Paris slipped.
Also in sight this week is the planned release of key US data, particularly on job creation, which will be closely read over for an idea about the Fed’s plans for interest rates.
Investors have scaled back their bets on a third successive cut next month – weighing on markets of late – after a string of decision makers, including bank boss Jerome Powell, questioned the need for another as inflation remains stubbornly high.
Bitcoin, which on Tuesday fell below US$90,000 for the first time in seven months, remained under pressure from the risk-aversion in markets. The cryptocurrency has taken a hefty hit since hitting a record high above US$126,000 at the start of October.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/stocks-struggle-nvidia-ai-us-interest-rates-5476306
