Global stocks flat as AI and rate fears hit tech
NEW YORK, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Global equity markets were flat on Thursday as concerns about AI spending and higher interest rates fueled a continued selloff in technology and chip stocks.
Investors have been unnerved by valuations of companies in the AI ecosystem as more voices question the sustainability of demand for data centers.
On Wall Street, the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index was last down 1.7%. The benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq reversed losses in early trade and were trading higher, led by healthcare and materials stocks, while the Dow was up 1%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.08%, the S&P 500 rose 0.27%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.11%.
"There's definitely a lot of investor skittishness right now about the path forward for AI," said Amanda Agati, chief investment officer at PNC Financial Services Group.
A brutal tech-led selloff had hit stocks in Asia. South Korea's KOSPI index, whose flock of top chipmakers made it one of the main beneficiaries of AI euphoria, plunged almost 8%, while the Nikkei 225 fell nearly 5%.
"I think the selloff reflects investor caution towards the more vulnerable segment of the AI ecosystem, with tech chiefs advocating a slower pace of frontier model development," said Rong Ren Goh, portfolio manager at Eastspring Investments.
"Markets increasingly question the sustainability and trajectory of demand for computing capacity. These concerns are compounded by higher funding costs, which raise the investment hurdle rates of capital-intensive AI infrastructure projects."
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 3.12% lower, marking its biggest one-day drop since late July. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell 0.01%.
European stocks erased early-session losses and finished up 0.38%.
BOND YIELDS FALL
Benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields fell back towards 5% in what was their biggest daily drop in more than a year.
US producer prices rose by the most in 4-1/2 years in September as goods and services costs increased, suggesting that inflation pressures are spreading beyond energy.
New US retail sales data showed they increased more than expected last month, boosted by higher gasoline prices, but they also pointed to spending elsewhere remaining moderate.
The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes fell 10.29 basis points to 5.087%.
DOLLAR DROPS
Wednesday's US inflation data had once again tweaked expectations for the Fed's rate path, with traders briefly pricing in roughly even odds of a hike this month, before scaling back those bets.
Fed funds futures are now pricing an implied 73% probability the US central bank will stay on hold at the end of its next two-day meeting on October 28, little changed from the start of the week, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.
In the currency markets, the dollar slipped from an 18-month peak. Against the yen it was down 0.09% at 158.15 yen, while the euro was up 0.47% at $1.12 and sterling was 0.57% higher and buying $1.33.
In oil markets, Brent crude fell 0.13% to settle at $105.92 a barrel as traders weighed up the effects of US sanctions relief on supply against attacks on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Spot gold rose 1.38% to $4,161.82 an ounce.
(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; additional reporting by Vidya Ranganathan; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Cynthia Osterman)
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