Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly lower Friday, tracking Wall Street declines, as fears over artificial intelligence disruption drove the S&P 500 to a third straight day of losses. Certain pockets of the U.S. stock market have been hit this year by the release of AI tools that threaten automating tasks performed by some companies — or at least risk eating into their profit margins. Shares of several trucking and logistics firms declined on fears that new AI tools could slash major freight inefficiencies, leading to less demand for the industry’s services. Software stocks like Palantir Technologies and Autodesk also slipped, plagued by disruption worries in recent weeks.
Stocks dropped on Thursday as investors began to worry about the negative side of the artificial intelligence buildout, which threatens to disrupt the business models of whole industries and raise unemployment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 669.42 points, or 1.34%, to end at 49,451.98. The index was led lower by Cisco Systems, which slid 12% after the maker of networking hardware such as switches and routers issued disappointing guidance for the current quarter. The S&P 500 dropped 1.57% and closed at 6,832.76, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.03% and settled at 22,597.15.
Gold rose to around $4,960 per ounce on Friday after falling more than 3% in the previous session, as markets navigated elevated volatility. Thursday’s drop occurred during a broad market selloff that led investors to liquidate precious metals to raise cash. Although no single catalyst was identified, parallel declines in equities and cryptocurrencies point to broader risk aversion, possibly reinforced by automated trading. Meanwhile, investors are focused on US inflation data due later today, which could shape expectations for the Federal Reserve’s next policy move. Stronger-than-expected January jobs data released earlier this week have led markets to price in a first rate cut in July rather than June. Nevertheless, concerns about currency debasement, ongoing central bank purchases, and geopolitical tensions continue to provide underlying support for the metal.
WTI crude oil futures hovered below $63 per barrel on Friday, retaining most of the nearly 3% loss from the previous session and heading for a second straight weekly decline, amid persistent oversupply concerns. The International Energy Agency reiterated that the market is likely to face a surplus of just over 3.7 million barrels per day in 2026, marking a record annual average glut, while also lowering its global oil demand forecast for that year. In its monthly report, the agency added that global inventories expanded in 2025 at the fastest pace since the 2020 pandemic. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said talks with Iran could stretch on for as long as a month, reducing the near-term likelihood of military action that could disrupt supplies.
Washington and Taipei have signed a trade deal lowering tariffs on Taiwanese exports to 15%, on par with those on Asian allies Japan and South Korea, while the island will open its market for U.S. goods. Taiwan will remove or reduce 99% of tariff barriers on U.S. goods, as well as provide “preferential market access” for U.S. industrial and agricultural exports. These include autos, beef products and minerals. Taiwan also plans to purchase over $84 billion in U.S. goods from 2025 to 2029, including liquefied natural gas and crude oil, as well as aircraft and power equipment. The office of the U.S. Trade Representative said that Taiwan had committed to “resolve longstanding non-tariff barriers,” such as accepting U.S. vehicles built to U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards without any additional requirements.
Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings has threatened legal action against Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk after Panamanian authorities tapped the group to temporarily take over operations of two strategic ports at either end of the Panama Canal. In a statement on Thursday, CK Hutchison warned A.P. Moller-Maersk that “any steps” the Danish group or its subsidiary takes to operate the ports without its agreement will likely “result in legal recourse.” That’s according to CNBC’s translation of the Chinese statement. The simmering dispute has become a geopolitical flashpoint between Washington and Beijing, with Panama caught in the crossfires.
A federal judge in Chicago temporarily blocked on Thursday the Trump administration from moving ahead with $600 million in cuts to public health grants in four states led by Democrats. U.S. District Judge Manish Shah said that California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota were likely to succeed in a lawsuit alleging the funding cuts were meant to retaliate against the states for their perceived opposition to federal immigration enforcement policies. Shah’s order prevents the federal government from moving ahead with the disputed funding cuts for 14 days while the lawsuit continues to play out in court. The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, sought to protect grant funding, administered through the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, that is used to monitor health threats, respond to disease outbreaks, and plan for public health emergencies.
Japan has agreed with the United States to accelerate talks on the first batch of deals under Japan’s $550 billion investment package as some issues still need to be worked out, Trade Minister Ryosei Akazawa said on Thursday. "As there remain areas where Japan and the United States need further coordination, we agreed to work closely together to develop projects," Akazawa told reporters in Washington. Japan has been under pressure to move faster on implementing the investment package agreed as part of Tokyo’s deal with Washington to lower tariffs on Japanese exports. Asked about the issues that need to be resolved, Akazawa said it takes time to assess various metrics, such as projected interest rates for each project. "Because of that, the talks have become extremely tough.
Xiaomi’s electric car venture has succeeded in dethroning Tesla in China, at least in January. The Xiaomi YU7 SUV ranked first in China by sales last month, with 37,869 units sold, twice as many as Tesla’s 16,845 Model Y vehicles, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association. The Model Y, which was the best-selling model in December, plunged to 20th place in January. Among new energy vehicles, it also fell from the first position to seventh over the same period. The figures include both electric and gasoline-powered vehicles and were published late Thursday by online car sales platform Autohome. Xiaomi started selling the YU7, its second electric car model, roughly half a year ago in the summer of 2025.
OpenAI has the largest private tech fundraising round on record. Rival Anthropic now has the second. Anthropic announced on Thursday the close of a $30 billion funding round at a $380 billion post-money valuation, more than double what the artificial intelligence company was worth in September, when it last raised money. The company behind Claude is trying to keep pace with OpenAI, which last year closed a round of more than $40 billion led by SoftBank. The largest private deal before that was Ant Group’s $14 billion capital raise in 2018. Developing and training AI models is extremely expensive, which is a big reason why Anthropic and OpenAI continue raising such large sums, as they have to pour money into computing resources like Nvidia’s graphics processing units.
Rivian Automotive’s results beat Wall Street targets and the electric vehicle maker stoked expectations for its rival to Tesla’s best-selling Model Y, saying its new, more affordable R2 SUVs would drive a 53% jump in 2026 deliveries. Shares of the company, known for its R1 family of high-end electric SUVs and pickup trucks, surged more than 15% in after-hours trading on Thursday. The new R2 model, priced in a similar range to the Model Y starting at about $45,000 and expected in the second quarter, is seen as critical for Rivian’s success as demand for EVs has weakened following the expiry of federal tax credits last year. Scaringe told Reuters that volumes for the R1T pickup, R1S SUV and its electric delivery vans would remain largely flat from 2025 levels, when the company delivered 42,247 vehicles.
Applied Materials forecast second-quarter revenue and profit above market estimates on Thursday, betting on a boom in demand for AI processors and a worldwide memory shortage to help drive sales of its chipmaking equipment. The rapid build-out of artificial intelligence infrastructure — a major driver for Applied — has absorbed much of the world’s memory chip supply, boosting production capacity, and further helping the company’s sales. The company’s shares rose over 12% in extended trading. Shares of peers Lam Research and KLA rose nearly 3% each after the bell, as Applied’s upbeat outlook lifted sentiment. Applied Materials expects second-quarter sales of about $7.65 billion, plus or minus $500 million, compared with estimates of $7.01 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.