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Markets mostly rose Friday as traders extended their buying at the end of a healthy week in Asia, where tech firms rallied on a reassessment of AI investments.After surging for the past two years on a rush into all things linked to artificial intelligence, Wall Street’s Magnificent Seven tech titans have been slow out of the blocks this year amid concerns about extended valuations and profitability.Worries about the impact of new tools that many warn pose a risk to a range of companies were compounded by a report on Sunday that signified parts of the global economy that could be at risk from the new gadgets, including credit card and food delivery firms.That uncertainty has seen a shift from “downstream” companies that run apps and software to “upstream” firms such as chipmakers, many of which are based in Asia.That was highlighted this week by another Wall Street sell-off, despite Nvidia reporting quarterly profits more than doubled, projecting more strong growth for the coming period.Analysts said the losses showed firms needed to far exceed even elevated forecasts, making it even harder to please investors who have been piling into tech in recent years.”Market expectations were already very elevated and part of the positive results had been priced in,” said City Index’s Julian Pineda.”There are also concerns related to stretched valuations and Nvidia’s dependence on capital spending by large technology companies investing in AI infrastructure. “If the pace of AI investment moderates due to cost optimisation efforts, it could indirectly affect Nvidia’s growth outlook.”Most of Wall Street fell, with the Nasdaq shedding more than one percent.Asia started off mixed but went into the home straight on a broadly positive note, with the Supreme Court’s decision last Friday to slap down many of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs seen largely benefiting regional economies.Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Bangkok and Wellington all advanced.But Seoul sank one percent, having chalked up gains of more than eight percent this week thanks to a surge in market heavyweights Samsung and SK hynix. Manila, Mumbai and Jakarta also slipped.London opened higher, Paris fell and Frankfurt was flat.The yen extended a minor recovery against the dollar after a top Bank of Japan board member again urged officials to continue hiking interest rates.However, the case for a pause was boosted by data showing Tokyo’s inflation — seen as a barometer for the country — cooled last month.The currency came under pressure this week after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi nominated two academics to the BoJ board who are considered policy doves, days after reports said she had told its boss Kazuo Ueda of her concern about tightening further.Oil prices rose as investors kept tabs on Iran nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran.Mediators said the two sides had made “significant progress” in talks Thursday in Switzerland as they look to avert a war in the crude-rich Middle East. Officials agreed to further discussions next week in Austria.The Oman-mediated negotiations follow repeated threats from Trump to strike Tehran, with the US president last Thursday giving it 15 days to reach a deal.- Key figures at around 0815 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 58,850.27 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.0 percent at 26,630.54 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 4,162.88 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 10,867.49 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.03 yen from 156.11 yen on ThursdayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1818 from $1.1799Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3493 from $1.3489Euro/pound: UP at 87.59 pence from 87.47 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.8 percent at $65.75 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.7 percent at $71.22 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP less than 0.1 percent at 49,499.20 (close)

Markets stuttered Friday as traders took their foot off the pedal at the end of a healthy week in Asia, where tech firms rallied on a reassessment of AI investments.After surging for the past two years on a rush into all things linked to artificial intelligence, Wall Street’s Magnificent Seven tech titans have been slow out of the blocks this year amid concerns about extended valuations and profitability.Worries about the impact of new tools that many warn pose a risk to a range of companies were compounded by a report on Sunday that signified parts of the global economy that could be at risk from the new gadgets, including credit card and food delivery firms.That uncertainty has seen a shift from “downstream” companies that run apps and software to “upstream” firms such as chipmakers, many of which are based in Asia.That was highlighted this week by another Wall Street sell-off, despite Nvidia reporting quarterly profits more than doubled, projecting more strong growth for the coming period.Analysts said the losses showed firms needed to far exceed even elevated forecasts, making it even harder to please investors who have been piling into tech in recent years.”Market expectations were already very elevated and part of the positive results had been priced in,” said City Index’s Julian Pineda.”There are also concerns related to stretched valuations and Nvidia’s dependence on capital spending by large technology companies investing in AI infrastructure. “If the pace of AI investment moderates due to cost optimisation efforts, it could indirectly affect Nvidia’s growth outlook.”Most of Wall Street fell, with the Nasdaq shedding more than one percent.Asia was mixed, with the Supreme Court’s decision last Friday to slap down many of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs seen largely benefiting regional economies.Hong Kong, Singapore and Wellington edged up, while Sydney and Shanghai shifted between gains and losses.But Seoul sank more than one percent, having chalked up gains of around 8.5 percent this week thanks to a surge in market heavyweights Samsung and SK hynix. Tokyo, Manila and Jakarta also fell.The yen extended a minor recovery against the dollar after a top Bank of Japan board member again urged officials to continue hiking interest rates.However, the case for a pause was boosted by data showing Tokyo’s inflation — seen as a barometer for the country — cooled last month.The currency came under pressure this week after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi nominated two academics to the BoJ board who are considered policy doves, days after reports said she had told its boss Kazuo Ueda of her concern about tightening further.Oil prices slipped after mediators said Iran and the United States made “significant progress” in nuclear talks Thursday as they look to avert a war in the crude-rich Middle East. The two sides agreed to further discussions next week in Austria.The Oman-mediated negotiations follow repeated threats from Trump to strike Tehran, with the US president last Thursday giving it 15 days to reach a deal.- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 58,528.09 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 26,427.58Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 4,146.82Dollar/yen: DOWN at 155.85 yen from 156.11 yen on ThursdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1796 from $1.1799Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3484 from $1.3489Euro/pound: UP at 87.49 pence from 87.47 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $65.02 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $70.54 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP less than 0.1 percent at 49,499.20 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 10,846.70 (close)

Australian supermarket giant Woolworths has been forced to rein in an AI-powered customer service assistant after users reported it had been rambling about its mother.The AI assistant, who goes by Olive, offers round the clock help with everything from tracking orders to finding products. But users online reported that Olive has in recent weeks gone slightly …

Australian supermarket giant reins in AI assistant claiming to be human Read More »

The tech-rich Nasdaq was back in retreat Thursday as lingering worries over the artificial intelligence boom overshadowed strong Nvidia results while leading bourses in Asia and Europe hit fresh records.All eyes had been on chip giant Nvidia, which reported Wednesday night that quarterly profits more than doubled to $43 billion as it projected more strong growth for the coming period.While trading in Nvidia was initially volatile, investors ultimately turned on the stock, leaving it down 5.5 percent at the end of Thursday’s session.”It says a lot when a stock market darling beating revenue forecasts by billions of dollars can no longer muster a positive share price reaction,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.”The mood music is changing on Nvidia, and it represents a significant shift in investor sentiment,” he added.The results come at a brittle moment for tech equities, which have suffered intermittent rounds of selling in recent days as markets weigh worries about whether massive capital spending on AI will prove profitable and the risk that incumbent technology companies could suffer.Nvidia’s “results by themselves were good, but we have to keep in mind that hyperscalers are spending way more than they’re bringing in,” said Jack Ablin of Cresset Capital Management. Investors are worried because slowing spending will “impact everyone along the chain,” Ablin said. “And Nvidia is obviously a big beneficiary of all that spending.”While the Dow eked out a tiny gain, the Nasdaq finished down 1.2 percent, snapping a two-day rally in which worries about AI appeared to recede.Meanwhile, major European indices advanced. London set a fresh record, boosted by a 4.5 percent rise in Rolls-Royce shares after the British engine-maker upgraded its guidance, announced a share buyback and posted soaring annual profits.Paris’s CAC 40 index crossed the 8,600 level for the first time and Frankfurt also rose. In Asia, Tokyo hit a new record, while Hong Kong edged down and Shanghai was flat.Seoul climbed more than three percent to a fresh peak on Thursday, led again by surges in Samsung and rival chipmaker SK hynix. The Kospi index is now up nearly 50 percent already this year.On currency markets, the yen clawed back some losses against the dollar that came after it emerged that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had nominated two academics to the Bank of Japan board who are considered policy doves.That came after earlier reports had said she had told the central bank’s boss Kazuo Ueda of her concern about hiking interest rates further.Among individual companies, shares in multinational automaker Stellantis, which makes brands such as Jeep and Fiat, climbed six percent as trading got underway in New York.The company posted a net loss of 22.3 billion euros ($26.3 billion) for last year, but it was mostly due to write-downs of assets as the carmaker shifts away from electric vehicles.- Key figures at around 2115 GMT -New York – Dow: UP less than 0.1 percent at 49,499.20 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.5 percent at 6,908.86 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.2 percent at 22,878.38 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 10,846.70 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 8,620.93 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 25,289.02 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 58,753.39 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 26,381.02 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 4,146.63 (close)Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.11 yen from 156.37 yen on WednesdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1799 from $1.1810Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3489 from $1.3559Euro/pound: UP at 87.47 pence from 87.10 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $65.21 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.1 percent at $70.75 per barrelburs-jmb/ksb

What began as a quiet meetup of Pokemon enthusiasts at a US store ended with an armed robbery in which masked men held the group at gunpoint to steal more than $100,000 in trading cards.The January heist in New York was the latest in a string of thefts targeting collectors of Pokemon, the Japanese media …

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Stock markets diverged on Thursday as investors digested company earnings, including better-than-forecast but not stellar results from chip titan Nvidia.Oil prices rose even as Iran and the United States began a new round of indirect talks on the Islamic republic’s nuclear programme, in a last-ditch bid to avert war. The market response to Nvidia’s earnings Wednesday was muted as initial excitement over its record quarterly revenue gave way to concerns that sky-high expectations for AI have become almost impossible to meet.Shares in the firm — which last year became the first to top $5 trillion in market capitalisation — dipped in after-hours trade in New York Wednesday and then fell 4.3 percent in trading on Thursday.”It says a lot when a stock market darling beating revenue forecasts by billions of dollars can no longer muster a positive share price reaction,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.”The mood music is changing on Nvidia, and it represents a significant shift in investor sentiment,” he added.Trade Nation analyst David Morrison noted that Nvidia’s shares had risen ahead of the earnings announcement.Moreover, the announcement “wasn’t the ‘stellar’ results with which the market has become accustomed, and this has left many investors pondering: ‘What next?'”Wall Street’s main indices were mixed in early afternoon trading, with the blue-chip Dow flat but both the broader S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite indices lower.- Stellantis, Rolls-Royce up -Shares in multinational automaker Stellantis, which makes brands such as Jeep and Fiat, climbed six percent as trading got underway in New York.The company posted a net loss of 22.3 billion euros ($26.3 billion) for last year, but it was mostly due to write-downs of assets as the carmaker shifts away from electric vehicles.Major European indices advanced. London set a fresh record, boosted by a 4.5 percent rise in Rolls-Royce shares after the British engine-maker upgraded its guidance, announced a share buyback and posted soaring annual profits.Paris’s CAC 40 index crossed the 8,600 level for the first time and Frankfurt also rose. In Asia, Tokyo hit a new record, while Hong Kong edged down and Shanghai was flat.Asian tech firms have enjoyed a blockbuster start to the year as investors reassess their AI bets. Attention is turning to “upstream” firms such as chipmakers and away from Wall Street’s “downstream” companies that run apps and software.The shift has come amid growing concerns about the hundreds of billions of dollars pumped into AI and when that will see a return, while a slew of new tools has raised fears the technology will disrupt other businesses.Seoul nevertheless climbed more than three percent to a fresh peak on Thursday, led again by surges in Samsung and rival chipmaker SK hynix. The Kospi index is now up nearly 50 percent already this year.On currency markets, the yen clawed back some losses against the dollar that came after it emerged that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had nominated two academics to the Bank of Japan board who are considered policy doves.That came after earlier reports had said she had told the central bank’s boss Kazuo Ueda of her concern about hiking interest rates further.- Key figures at around 1630 GMT -New York – Dow: FLAT at 49,502.22 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.6 percent at 6,903.70New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.2 percent at 22,864.45London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 10,846.70Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.9 percent at 8,634.74Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 25,289.02Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 58,753.39 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 26,381.02 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 4,146.63 (close)Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.21 yen from 156.46 yen on WednesdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1793 from $1.1805Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3512 from $1.3554Euro/pound: UP at 87.31 pence from 87.10 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.7 percent at $66.52 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 2.1 percent at $72.17 per barrelburs-rl/sbk

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was flying to Asia on Thursday for a three-country tour with a first stop in India, where he hopes to double trade to offset the damage of his country’s fracturing relations with the United States.Carney’s India visit marks the latest effort to reset bilateral ties that effectively collapsed after Ottawa accused New Delhi of orchestrating a deadly campaign against Sikh activists on Canadian territory.For Carney, the trip that includes stops in Australia and Japan is part of a broad effort to pivot the Canadian economy away from excessive reliance on its southern neighbor.In 2024, before US President Donald Trump returned to office and upended global trade through a flurry of tariffs, more than 75 percent of Canadian exports went to the United States. Two-way trade that year exceeded $900 billion.So far Trump broadly adhered to the North American free trade agreement he signed during his first term and about 85 percent of US-Canada trade remains tariff-free. But at the same time, he also imposed painful industry-specific tariffs and there are fears that if he scraps the broader trade deal, the Canadian economy will be hit hard.Carney has made boosting commerce with Europe and Asia cornerstones of his strategy to backstop Canada’s economy, should free trade with Washington collapse.University of Toronto public policy expert Drew Fagan said Carney was wise to pursue other markets, calling for a strategy that seeks to do “more elsewhere, when there’s an opportunity.”The prime minister has said he wants to more than double two-way trade with India by 2030, eyeing a target of Can$70 billion ($51 billion) by 2030.Fagan cautioned that progress with countries like India cannot mitigate the damage of a US rupture.”It’s not a solution. It’s not a replacement and it never will be,” Fagan told AFP.- Transnational repression -Carney left Ottawa on Thursday morning en route to Mumbai. He is expected to meet with business groups in the Indian city over the weekend before heading to New Delhi for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a meeting that will be closely watched. Before Carney took office last year, Ottawa accused Modi’s government of direct involvement in the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a naturalized Canadian citizen who advocated for an independent Sikh state called Khalistan.Former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s government further charged India with directing a campaign of intimidation against Sikh activists across Canada.India has denied those allegations.Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand was asked Monday if Canadian concerns about transnational repression would feature at the New Delhi talks.”Yes, that is always at the forefront of our minds,” Anand told reporters in Ottawa.Carney’s hopes for trade growth with Australia and Japan are more modest, but his office said cooperation over critical mineral supply chains will be a priority.Advanced economies have made a push to deepen critical mineral cooperation, especially in the processing of rare earth elements essential to power many high-tech products.China currently has dominant control of rare earth supply chains, a concern that Canada highlighted throughout its just-concluded G7 presidency.

Stock markets traded mixed on Thursday as investors digested company earnings, including better-than-forecast results from chip titan Nvidia.Oil prices fell as Iran and the United States began a new round of indirect talks on the Islamic republic’s nuclear programme, in a last-ditch bid to avert war. The market response to Nvidia’s earnings Wednesday was muted as initial excitement over its record quarterly revenue gave way to concerns that sky-high expectations for AI have become almost impossible to meet.Shares in the firm — which last year became the first to top $5 trillion in market capitalisation — dipped in after-hours trade in New York Wednesday.”It says a lot when a stock market darling beating revenue forecasts by billions of dollars can no longer muster a positive share price reaction,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.”The mood music is changing on Nvidia, and it represents a significant shift in investor sentiment,” he added.Nvidia shares fell two percent as trading got underway in New York on Thursday.Trade Nation analyst David Morrison, noted that Nvidia’s shares had risen ahead of the earnings announcement.Moreover, the announcement “wasn’t the ‘stellar’ results with which the market has become accustomed, and this has left many investors pondering: ‘What next?'”Wall Street opened mixed, with the Dow rising, the S&P 500 flat and the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipping.- Stellantis, Rolls-Royce up -Shares in multinational automaker Stellantis, which is behind brands such as Jeep and Fiat, climbed six percent as trading got underway in New York.The company posted a net loss of 22.3 billion euros ($26.3 billion) for last year, but it was mostly due to write-downs of assets as the carmaker shifts away from EVs.Major European indices advanced in afternoon trading on Thursday. London was boosted by a six-percent rise in Rolls-Royce shares after the British engine-maker upgraded its guidance, announced a share buyback and posted soaring annual profits.Paris’s CAC 40 index crossed the 8,600 level for the first time and Frankfurt also rose. In Asia, Tokyo hit a new record, while Hong Kong edged down and Shanghai was flat.Asian tech firms have enjoyed a blockbuster start to the year as investors reassess their AI bets. Attention is turning to “upstream” firms such as chipmakers and away from Wall Street’s “downstream” companies that run apps and software.The shift has come amid growing concerns about the hundreds of billions of dollars pumped into AI and when that will see a return, while a slew of new tools has raised fears the technology will disrupt other businesses.Seoul nevertheless climbed more than three percent to a fresh peak on Thursday, led again by surges in chipmaker Samsung and rival SK hynix. The Kospi index is now up nearly 50 percent already this year.On currency markets the yen clawed back some losses against the dollar that came after it emerged that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had nominated two academics to the Bank of Japan board who are considered policy doves.That came after earlier reports had said she had told the central bank’s boss Kazuo Ueda of her concern about hiking interest rates further.- Key figures at around 1430 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 49,685.19 pointsNew York – S&P 500: FLAT at 6,946.44New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 23,099.40London – FTSE 100: UP less than 0.1 percent at 10,814.78 Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 8,624.93Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 25,279.76Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 58,753.39 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 26,381.02 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 4,146.63 (close)Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.09 yen from 156.46 yen on WednesdayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1810 from $1.1805Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3546 from $1.3554Euro/pound: UP at 87.19 pence from 87.10 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.9 percent at $64.21 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.2 percent at $69.84 per barrelburs-rl/jj

Hong Kong’s stock exchange reported record profits for the second consecutive year on Thursday, after the finance hub topped the global rankings for initial public offerings in 2025.Profit attributable to shareholders rose 36 percent to US$2.3 billion, while total revenue and other income jumped 30 percent to also hit a peak of US$3.7 billion.Core business …

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Stock markets mostly extended gains on Thursday as investors digested company earnings, including forecast-beating results from chip titan Nvidia. Oil prices fell as Iran and the United States began a new round of indirect talks on the Islamic republic’s nuclear programme, in a last-ditch bid to avert war. The market response to Nvidia’s earnings Wednesday was muted as initial excitement over its record quarterly revenue gave way to concerns that sky-high expectations for AI have become almost impossible to meet. Shares in the firm — which last year became the first to top $5 trillion in market capitalisation — dipped in after-hours trade in New York.”It says a lot when a stock market darling beating revenue forecasts by billions of dollars can no longer muster a positive share price reaction,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.”The mood music is changing on Nvidia, and it represents a significant shift in investor sentiment,” he added.Major European indices advanced nearing midday trade on Thursday. London was boosted by a more than six percent rise in Rolls-Royce shares after the British engine-maker upgraded its guidance, announced a share buyback and posted soaring annual profits.Paris and Frankfurt also rose. In Asia, Tokyo hit a new record, while Hong Kong edged down and Shanghai was flat.Asian tech firms have enjoyed a blockbuster start to the year as investors reassess their AI bets, with attention turning to “upstream” firms such as chipmakers and away from Wall Street’s “downstream” companies that run apps and software.The shift has come amid growing concerns about the hundreds of billions of dollars pumped into AI and when that will see a return, while a slew of new tools has raised fears the technology will disrupt other businesses.Still, Seoul climbed more than three percent to a fresh peak on Thursday, led again by surges in chipmaker Samsung and rival SK hynix. The Kospi index is now up nearly 50 percent already this year.On currency markets the yen clawed back some losses against the dollar that came after it emerged that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had nominated two academics to the Bank of Japan board who are considered policy doves.That came after reports had earlier said she had told the central bank’s boss Kazuo Ueda of her concern about hiking interest rates further.- Key figures at around 1100 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 10,826.63 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 8,623.54Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.2 percent at 25,235.17Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 58,753.39 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 26,381.02 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 4,146.63 (close)New York – Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 49,482.15 (close)Dollar/yen: DOWN at 155.97 yen from 156.46 yen on WednesdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1798 from $1.1805Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3535 from $1.3554Euro/pound: UP at 87.16 pence from 87.10 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.7 percent at $64.32 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.4 percent at $69.71 per barrel