Wall Street slipped on Friday as another sharp selloff in artificial intelligence (AI)-linked stocks outweighed gains across much of the broader market, putting the benchmark S&P 500 on course for only its second weekly decline in the last 13 weeks, according to the Business Today article.
Market Overview
The S&P 500 fell 0.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1% as of 9:35 am Eastern Time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 223 points, or 0.4%, the report noted, citing AP.
| Index | Change | Level/Points |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | -0.6% | — |
| Nasdaq Composite | -1.0% | — |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | -223 pts (-0.4%) | — |
| Japan Nikkei 225 | -4.2% | — |
| South Korea KOSPI | -5.8% | — |
The weakness followed a broad selloff across Asian markets, where AI-related stocks led declines. Japan's Nikkei 225 tumbled 4.2%, while South Korea's benchmark index fell 5.8%.
AI Stocks Lead Declines
The latest correction reflects growing investor concerns that earnings growth may struggle to justify the massive gains AI stocks have delivered over the past year. Given their large weight in global indices, declines in AI stocks have had an outsized impact on broader markets. The pressure came despite the majority of stocks within the S&P 500 trading higher, the article noted.
Among the biggest drags was Micron Technology, whose shares fell 5.5%. The memory-chip maker has been one of Wall Street's biggest winners this year, with its stock roughly quadrupling as AI-driven demand boosted sales.
However, investors also weighed comments from Apple, which said it was raising prices on many of its products to offset rising memory costs, raising concerns that higher prices could eventually hurt consumer demand.
SpaceX slipped another 1% to trade below $152, nearing its lowest level since its much-publicised Wall Street debut earlier this month. After listing at $135 per share, the stock had briefly surged above $225 before reversing course. Besides its space business, SpaceX also owns AI company xAI.
In Japan, SoftBank Group Corp slumped 12.5%, leading losses after a New York Times report said OpenAI may delay its planned initial public offering until next year instead of the second half of this year. Such an IPO would allow OpenAI to raise additional capital for data centre investments while offering early investors such as SoftBank an opportunity to monetise part of their holdings. The recent weakness in AI stocks, however, has raised questions about investor appetite for the sector.
South Korea also saw heavy selling in AI-linked companies, with SK Hynix falling 8.4% and Samsung Electronics declining 5.3%.
Broader Market Movers
Oil prices continued to retreat after easing geopolitical tensions in West Asia. Brent crude fell 3% to $73.23 a barrel, while US benchmark crude declined 3.2% to $69.65.
In the bond market, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury eased marginally to 4.39% from 4.40% on Thursday. Higher bond yields, driven by inflation concerns, have increased borrowing costs globally and continue to pressure richly valued technology stocks, particularly AI companies.
For executives and investors monitoring market trends, the selloff underscores the vulnerability of high-multiple AI stocks to shifts in earnings expectations and macroeconomic headwinds. The divergence between AI-heavy indices and the broader market's underlying strength suggests a rotation rather than a systemic retreat, but the near-term direction will likely hinge on upcoming earnings reports and Federal Reserve policy signals.
Sources:
