Key Facts
What the world’s markets decided. Asia’s chip rollercoaster crashed again. Just two days after a violent rebound, South Korea’s KOSPI plunged −6.85% with Samsung −7.39%, Japan’s Nikkei fell −4.29% and Taiwan −3.79%, on renewed worries about inflation and Federal Reserve rate hikes. The whipsaw — up 6% one day, down 7% the next — shows how unstable the AI trade has become.
Apple’s shock. In the US, Apple tumbled −6.12% after announcing price hikes across its hardware, raising doubts about demand and margins. That dragged the Nasdaq, while Microsoft −3.46% added to the mega-cap pain.
But the broad market held. Money rotated into cheaper, steadier shares — US industrials rose +2.17%, healthcare +1.49% and materials +1.33%, keeping the S&P 500 flat (−0.01%) and lifting the Dow +0.14%. Europe rallied across the board (Germany +1.03%).
Commodities bounced back. After Thursday’s crash, raw materials rebounded — oil +2.84%, copper +1.87% and gold +0.97% — a direct tailwind for the countries that sell them.
