BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mixed Thursday in Europe and Asia and South Korea’s Kospi dropped more than 4% following declines for some Big Tech giants including memory chipmaker SK Hynix. Oil prices held steady, with Brent crude trading near $79 a barrel. Uncertainty about the direction of the U.S. war with Iran is still overhanging markets despite hopes for a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.1% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2%.Markets will get an update Friday on U.S. jobs with the monthly employment report for July, and analysts say investors appear to be bracing for its potential impact.“Asia’s chip selloff looks like a combination of profit-taking and risk reduction ahead of Friday’s nonfarm payroll report,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
Strong corporate profits and expectations for more growth ahead generally have been steering U.S. stocks higher. But Asian benchmarks have been hit by bouts of selling of computer chipmakers and other companies related to the boom in artificial intelligence. SK Hynix plunged 10.4% after dropping 30% ahead of the open in Seoul, while its larger rival Samsung Electronics lost 6.3% in the latest rout for shares linked to the AI boom.
