Asian markets sink on AI spending fears, oil surge

Asian equities retreated on Friday, October 23, after losses among US technology shares and a jump in crude prices unsettled investors, Mettis Global reported. South Korea’s Kospi fell 2.42% and Kosdaq dropped 2.6%; Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 2.1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.47%. China’s CSI 300 slid 1.76%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.21%.

US technology stocks fell 3% amid concern about the scale and durability of AI-related investment. Nvidia was down 4.4%, Alphabet lost 3.2% and AMD dropped 8.1%; Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also said capital was becoming scarce compared with demand for AI infrastructure funding. Brent crude rose 4% to $113.17 a barrel, its highest close since May, after a report about US and Israeli plans for possible renewed attacks on Iran. Treasury yields fell as investors moved towards safer assets, while markets awaited the University of Michigan’s final consumer sentiment reading.