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July 3, 2026 - 03:46
5 minutes
(Bloomberg) — Stocks stabilized after two days of tech-led losses that were fueled by concern the artificial intelligence-driven rally had run ahead of itself. Gold extended gains on bets the Federal Reserve will wait longer to raise interest rates.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.7% after swinging between gains and losses at start of Friday. Futures contracts tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index climbed 0.3%. Benchmarks in China, Hong Kong and Japan all opened higher.South Korea’s Kospi index, the world’s best-performing major stocks gauge this year, climbed 1.2% after a volatile start that saw the benchmark drop to near a technical bear market. Samsung Electronics Co. shares climbed 4.4% after a report that Anthropic PBC is in talks with the Korean company to manufacture a custom artificial intelligence chip.Elsewhere, Treasury futures edged higher in Asia after weaker than expected US June employment data and lower oil prices challenged expectations for Fed rate hikes this year. There’s no cash trading in Treasuries worldwide on Friday due to a US holiday. The dollar weakened against most of its major peers.Friday’s gains offered some relief after a selloff in technology stocks, particularly chipmakers, fueled concern that the AI-driven rally may have gone too far, too fast. While confidence in the technology’s long-term potential remains strong, investors are increasingly questioning whether sky-high valuations can keep pace with rising spending and a more crowded market.“There are concerns that the high memory prices will bring AI solutions that need less memory, and that the data center build-out may not all get built in the end,” said Louis Navellier of Navellier & Associates. “And that token pricing of AI software will push users to lower-cost versions, especially Chinese offerings, and is bringing increased caution regarding the enthusiasm for all things AI.”In other corners of the market, Brent crude headed for a weekly loss as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz increased, adding to a gush of near-term supply while talks between the US and Iran continue.Gold rose, extending this week’s gain, as the weak US jobs numbers eased Fed rate-hike bets. The non-yielding metal, which is less attractive when rates are increased, traded around $4,180 an ounce.Earlier, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 received a boost after data showed the US labor market cooled in June, reinforcing expectations the Fed can afford to be patient on interest rates.Nonfarm payrolls increased 57,000 last month after downward revisions to the prior two months took some of the shine off recent blockbuster reports, Bureau of Labor Statistics data Thursday showed. The unemployment rate fell to 4.2% as labor force participation plunged.Traders pared back expectations for additional Fed rate hikes, though they continued to price in at least one increase this year.“A labor market that is still expanding, but no longer overheating, allows the Fed to remain patient while assessing price pressures,” said Andrew Dubinsky at UBS Chief Investment Office. “If disinflation continues as expected, policymakers will have little reason to move away from a holding pattern in the second half of the year.”Corporate Highlights:Tesla Inc.’s vehicle sales beat Wall Street’s modest expectations by a wide margin. SoftBank Group Corp. and its telecom unit will start renting AI computing resources to US companies next fiscal year. Rivian Automotive Inc. raised its full-year sales outlook in a promising sign as the maker of electric vehicles begins deliveries of its lower-cost SUV seen as critical to the company’s future. Adani Enterprises Ltd. is seeking to raise as much as 100 billion rupees ($1 billion) through a sale of shares to institutional investors, terms showed. Some of the main moves in markets:StocksS&P 500 futures rose 0.3% as of 10:45 a.m. Tokyo time Nikkei 225 futures (OSE) rose 0.4% Japan’s Topix rose 0.7% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.1% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.8% The Shanghai Composite rose 0.6% Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.2% CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1440 The Japanese yen was little changed at 161.15 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7837 per dollar CryptocurrenciesBitcoin rose 0.1% to $61,592.74 Ether rose 0.6% to $1,714.23 BondsAustralia’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 4.81% CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.2% to $68.81 a barrel Spot gold rose 1.4% to $4,178.25 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
