South Korea’s Kospi plunged as much as 5% Friday, leading another weak session in most Asia markets after a tech-led rout on Wall Street. The South Korean index pared losses and was last down 2%; the small-cap Kosdaq was down 2.48%. Index heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell 1% and 0.71%, respectively, while Hyundai Motor was 4.81% lower. Defense heavyweight Hanwha Aerospace was 4.97% down, while LG Energy Solution lost 2.91%. South Korea’s market, which is heavily weighted in favor of companies in the chip and automotive industries, have seen sharp swings in the past week as sentiment over tech stocks sours. Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 reversed losses to gain 0.34%, while the broad-based Topix was up 0.68%.
Major stock indexes closed sharply lower and bitcoin plunged Thursday amid broad risk-off sentiment, as investors weighed the latest Big Tech earnings and downbeat labor data. The tech-heavy Nasdaq and benchmark S&P 500 posted their third straight losing sessions, falling 1.6% and 1.2%, respectively. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 1.2%, or nearly 600 points. Jobless claims for the week ending Jan. 31 came in at 231,000, higher than economists' estimates of 212,000 and the prior week's 209,000. In addition, U.S. employers announced more than 108,000 layoffs in January, per Challenger, Gray & Christmas data, their highest level for that month since 2009.
Gold rose to around $4,830 per ounce on Friday, reversing earlier losses as markets navigated heightened volatility. The swings that began late last week continued, wiping out most of its year-to-date gains, weighed by selling pressure after the metal repeatedly hit record highs in January. Meanwhile, US job cuts reached 108.4K in January, the highest for the month since 2009, while initial claims rose to 231K and ADP payrolls missed forecasts. The string of weaker labor data reinforced expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts later this year, with markets eyeing a first move in June. On the geopolitical front, the White House emphasized that President Donald Trump prefers a diplomatic solution with Iran, signaling patience for high-level negotiations while keeping military options as a contingency.
WTI crude oil futures fell below $63 per barrel on Friday, extending losses from the previous session and heading for their first weekly decline in six weeks, as attention remained on scheduled Iran–US talks later in the day. Iran’s confirmation that negotiations would take place helped ease near-term concerns over military conflict and supply disruptions involving the major OPEC producer, which accounts for about a third of global crude output. Still, differing views on the scope of the talks cast doubt on whether major gaps can be bridged.
India’s central bank on Friday kept its policy rates unchanged, as headwinds to growth have weakened following the announcement of trade deals with the E.U. and the U.S. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the policy rate to remain unchanged at 5.25%. “External headwinds have intensified, though the successful completion of trade deals augurs well” for overall economic outlook, said Sanjay Malhotra, governor of Reserve Bank of India, explaining the reason for hitting a pause on the easing cycle. He added that in the near term, domestic inflation and growth outlook remain positive. The Reserve Bank of India cut benchmark rates by 125 basis points last year, and economists say the focus will now shift to transmission of the previous rate cuts.
New Delhi is ready to place orders worth up to $80 billion for Boeing planes, India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal reportedly said, signaling New Delhi’s willingness to expand trade with the U.S. India’s demand for aircraft alone, with orders for Boeing “yet to be placed but ready,” is nearly $80 billion, Goyal said on Thursday, adding that if engines and other spare parts are added, imports from U.S. will “cross 100 billion dollars just [from] aircrafts.” Families of passengers who died in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad in June last year are suing Boeing, over the alleged role of defective dual switches in the disaster that saw 241 of the 242 the minister said on board lose their lives.
The U.S. Virtual Embassy in Iran issued a security alert early Friday urging American citizens to “leave Iran now” and prepare departure plans that don’t rely on U.S. government assistance. The notice comes ahead of U.S. and Iran’s scheduled talks in Oman on Friday, with little indication that the two sides have found common ground over the agenda of the meeting. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, were due to take part in the meeting with a team led by Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to American and Iranian officials. The talks on Friday would be the first official meeting between Tehran and Washington since tensions flared in June last year, when a 12-day war with Israel led to U.S. airstrikes that severely damaged Iran’s three main nuclear facilities.
A simmering dispute over two container ports at either end of the Panama Canal risks becoming a geopolitical flashpoint between the world’s two largest economies: the U.S. and China. It follows a contentious decision from Panama’s top court voiding a license of a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison for operating two key terminals on the waterway, through which some 40% of all U.S. container traffic transits every year. The ruling was seen as a major victory for the U.S., given that the White House has made blocking China’s influence over the global trade artery one of its top priorities. China has sought to raise the stakes in recent days. In its strongest rebuke yet, Beijing warned on Wednesday that the Central American country “will inevitably pay a heavy price both politically and economically,” unless it changes course.
Bitcoin briefly sank below $61,000 on Thursday evening as investor confidence continued to falter in the asset once hailed as “digital gold” and a unique store of value. At one point, the token slid to $60,062.00, as the crypto sell-off intensified in overnight trading. Bitcoin was last down about 15% at 7:37 p.m. ET, trading at $62,448.00. Digital assets, including bitcoin, have fallen deeper into the red as investors re-assess the practical utility of a token that has been championed not only as a hedge against inflation and macroeconomic uncertainties but also as an alternative to fiat currencies and traditional safe-havens such as gold. That hasn’t panned out lately, since bitcoin peaked just north of $126,000 in early October.
Amazon shares plunged more than 10% in extended trading Thursday after the company posted mixed fourth-quarter earnings and boosted its 2026 spending forecast to $200 billion. Amazon said it expects capital expenditures to continue to climb higher this year as it aggressively invests in data centers and other infrastructure to meet a surge in artificial intelligence demand. The company projected capex to hit $200 billion this year, while analysts were expecting $146.6 billion, according to FactSet. Amazon’s capital expenditures were roughly $131 billion in 2025. “With such strong demand for our existing offerings and seminal opportunities like AI, chips, robotics, low earth orbit satellites, we expect to invest about $200 billion in capital expenditures across Amazon in 2026, and anticipate strong long-term return on invested capital,” CEO Andy Jassy said in a statement.
Roblox shares surged 10% in extended trading Thursday after the company reported results for the fourth fiscal quarter that beat consensus estimates. The company said it expects first-quarter bookings to come in between $1.69 billion and $1.74 billion, which is higher than Wall Street expectations of $1.68 billion. Roblox’s fourth-quarter bookings increased 63% from a year ago, while the company reported $316 million in net loss for the quarter, a nearly 44% increase from $220 million the year prior. The company reported 144 million average daily active users, or DAUs, for the fourth quarter, up 69% year over year. Analysts expected 138 million DAUs. Roblox announced in its letter to shareholders that it no longer plans to issue annual guidance starting in 2027 due to “inherent variability” in the company’s business. Instead, Roblox said it will focus on providing quarterly guidance.
Tesla remained a strong contender in Beijing’s competitive electric vehicle scene, as the company’s China-produced EV sales grew modestly in January from the year before, amid a broader industry slowdown. According to data published by the China Passenger Car Association on Wednesday, January deliveries from Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory rose by 9% to 69,129 units, from 63,238 in January 2025. The latest January deliveries places Tesla in third place against other Chinese EV manufacturers. BYD was in the lead at 205,518 shipments, while Geely came in second with 124,252 units, according to the CPCA. Despite the rise in deliveries, there is little indication of an actual growth in demand for Tesla’s offerings in China — the world’s largest EV market.