Early Friday morning Beijing time, the three major U.S. stock indices closed higher. With concerns that tech companies are investing too heavily in the field of artificial intelligence, investors began to withdraw from the AI trading sector and turned to other value-oriented assets. Traders also processed economic data indicating that the U.S. economy has resilience to inflation.
The S&P 500 rose by 25.12 points, or 0.33%, to 7,744.06; the Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 20.16 points, or 0.08%, closing at 26,713.03. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed by 556.21 points, or 1.08%, to 52,177.69.
Seagate Technology and Western Digital continued their downward trend this week, and the stock price of SK Hynix also weakened, dragging down the South Korean Composite Stock Index (Kospi) to experience a significant drop on the previous trading day.
Concerns in the AI sector have further intensified: Sources reveal that Anthropic's revenue in the third quarter increased to $16.8 billion, and some traders are worried that the revenue growth rate of this AI giant may not be able to support the previous significant upward trend in chip manufacturers' stock prices.
However, other stocks in the AI sector have shown some recovery. The stock price of CoreWeave rose by 3%, reversing the previous day's decline. On the previous trading day, the stock tumbled by more than 15% due to investors' concerns that the company was taking on heavy debt to expand its AI computing power, and the yield on CoreWeave company bonds also soared accordingly. In addition, Micron Technology turned from a decline to a rise, with a closing increase of nearly 1%.
Evoke, Co-Chief Investment Officer of MAI Capital Management, stated: "U.S. Treasury yields have reached 5%, the highest level since the beginning of the 21st century. Investors will compare this return with high-risk investments such as AI. The question is not whether to allocate to AI or not, but to what extent you are willing to concentrate your positions."
Sectors other than the technology sector provided support for the broader market. Retailer Walmart's stock price rose by nearly 2%, while Nike's stock soared by over 5%.
Investors also reacted to the latest inflation-related data. In September, the U.S. Producer Price Index ( PPI ) rose by 1.3% month-on-month and 6.3% year-on-year, marking the largest month-on-month and year-on-year increases since 2022.
Previously, in September, the year-on-year increase in the Consumer Price Index ( CPI ) exceeded expectations, and markets feared that the Federal Reserve might adopt more aggressive tightening monetary policies before the end of the year, putting pressure on U.S. stocks on Wednesday.
TradeStation, the head of global market strategy, said: "Following the CPI data on Wednesday, today's PPI report confirms that inflation is worsening against the backdrop of high energy prices. Regardless of whether there is a general election or not, with prices continuing to rise, the Federal Reserve may be forced to take action."
