Global equity markets slipped on Thursday as a sharp retreat in artificial-intelligence equities coincided with a surge in oil prices. The S&P 500 lost 1.2 percent, marking its steepest decline since July, while the Nasdaq composite fell 2.6 percent. By contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 11 points, less than a tenth of a percent. Brent crude jumped 4 percent to $113.17 a barrel, its highest level since May.
Investors cited rising financing costs for data-center construction and AI-chip procurement as a key stressor for the sector, alongside worries that valuations have become detached from fundamentals despite ongoing revenue growth. Semiconductor-equipment maker Lam Research reported profit and revenue that modestly beat forecasts, yet its shares slumped 11.8 percent, underscoring the breadth of the sell-off.
Meta Platforms shed roughly seven percent after posting quarterly revenue that topped expectations while profit fell short, erasing tens of billions in market value. The company also announced a new class of shares to fund its AI initiatives. Tesla’s stock slipped 3.1 percent despite a profit beat, as revenue lagged forecasts. Nvidia, the market-cap heavyweight, dropped 4.4 percent, amplifying the downward pressure on the S&P 500.
Cloud-infrastructure firm CoreWeave tumbled 10.1 percent amid concerns that its debt-financed acquisition of Nvidia GPUs could become unsustainable. The AI-related weakness spread to Asian markets, with South Korea’s Kospi falling 3.5 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipping 3 percent, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropping 2.7 percent, reflecting the global reach of the sector’s volatility.
In Europe, France’s CAC 40 recorded a 1.4 percent decline, one of the continent’s steepest drops, as government-bond yields rose on worries about the nation’s sizable debt and recent street protests. Across the Atlantic, U.S. Treasury yields fell sharply, with the 10-year note slipping to 4.97 percent from 5.13 percent the day before, indicating a flight to safety as equity markets roiled.
U.S. labor data showed a dip in initial unemployment claims, suggesting that layoffs remain modest despite a still-robust economy. Strong earnings from firms such as Procter & Gamble, Lockheed Martin and CSX helped cushion the market’s losses, with P&G shares rising 5.6 percent. CEO Shailesh Jejurikar said geopolitical and economic challenges would persist, yet the company maintained its full-year revenue and profit outlook, according to The Guardian.
The combined effect left the S&P 500 down 93.74 points to 7,663.43, while the Nasdaq fell 694 points to 26,008.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 11.89 points to finish at 52,867.98, illustrating how a handful of heavyweight tech shares can dominate broader market movements.