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(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks declined along with US equity-index futures as enthusiasm for the artificial intelligence trade cooled after driving markets to record highs this year.
MSCI’s regional equity gauge dropped 2.1%, with South Korea — the world’s best-performing gauge this year and a bellwether for AI investments — tumbling 6.5%. Futures contracts for the Nasdaq 100 Index dropped 1.3%, indicating a third day of losses for the gauge as investors rotate out of technology and chip stocks.
Currencies remained a focus with the Korean won extending its drop to a new 2009 low. The Indonesian rupiah closed Thursday at its lowest ever against the dollar as foreign investors pull billions of dollars from the country’s bonds and stocks fell.
Stocks are pulling back from record highs as Broadcom Inc.’s outlook for AI-chip sales fell short of elevated expectations, pausing a blistering advance in semiconductor shares from their war-driven lows. Investors now face a crucial test on Friday with the US jobs report, which could reshape expectations for Federal Reserve policy and determine whether the AI-fueled rally broadens further or loses momentum.
