THE CRUNCH
A fresh wobble in AI stocks pulled markets lower worldwide on Thursday, while oil prices reached their highest levels since May amid worries about the war with Iran. The S&P 500 fell 1.2%, its worst day since July, and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 2.6%. Datacentre and chip costs were cited as fuel for the AI sector's sharp decline.
The sell-off was strikingly narrow. Tech weakness was strong enough to mask strength elsewhere in the US market, where the majority of stocks actually rose. The Dow Jones Industrial Average even finished slightly up, adding 11 points, or less than 0.1%.