While gold and the Nasdaq basked in the afterglow of their sharpest gains for months, US futures and Asia’s major bourses struggled to hold on to gains.
S&P 500 futures were last about 0.1% lower. European futures were off highs but about 0.3% stronger. Japan’s Nikkei gave up a morning rally to fall 0.5%, with the drag coming from big drops in semiconductor shares.
Traders were also unsettled by a sharp fall in South Korea’s won , which has been facing heavy selling as both Korean and foreign investors have been cutting positions in the semiconductor-heavy equity market in favour of foreign assets.
The benchmark Kospi retraced morning gains to trade nearly flat. Markets in Hong Kong and China were down around 0.5% by mid-afternoon.
“There’s probably a bit of fear about the overheated AI rally, not necessarily any concrete concern,” said Nomura strategist Naka Matsuzawa in Tokyo.
–Reuters–
