Hong Kong – Stocks bounced around Wednesday after another tech-driven sell-off on Wall Street, while gold and silver staged a modest recovery following a sharp drop over the past two days.
Oil prices also climbed on renewed U.S.-Iran tensions, after an American jet shot down an Iranian drone in the Middle East, just as the two countries were preparing for key nuclear talks.
Markets have been on edge since the start of February, reacting to a stronger dollar, geopolitical risks, and fears of another U.S. government shutdown. Concerns about artificial intelligence also kept traders cautious, with warnings that heavy investments in AI could be fueling a bubble.
The latest scare came from AI startup Anthropic, the creator of the Claude chatbot, which unveiled a tool that could help firms carry out legal work. The news rattled tech, financial services, and asset management stocks. Downbeat sales projections from Advanced Micro Devices added to the gloom.
In Asia, tech stocks slipped while broader markets moved mixed. Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, and Manila rose, but Tokyo, Hong Kong, Jakarta, and Wellington fell. Taipei was largely flat.
Precious metals continued their rebound after plunging earlier this week. Gold hovered just above $5,000 an ounce, and silver around $87, both recovering from recent lows but still below last week’s record highs of $5,595 and $121. “Investors are dipping their toes back in after a big clean-out of speculative positions,” said Neil Wilson of Saxo Markets. “Prices fell so fast that many see now as a good entry point.”
Oil prices gained about 1% following Tuesday’s Middle East incidents. A U.S. jet downed an Iranian drone near an aircraft carrier, and Iranian forces tried to detain a U.S.-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. These events come even as Washington and Tehran agreed to talks, with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff expected to meet Iranian officials later this week.
Traders were also encouraged after President Trump signed a congressional spending bill to fund government agencies, giving lawmakers extra time to negotiate on controversial immigration policies. However, full-year funding for the Department of Homeland Security still has just two weeks to be finalized.
Key figures at 0230 GMT:
- Tokyo – Nikkei 225: down 0.6% at 54,391.58
- Hong Kong – Hang Seng: down 0.4% at 26,722.61
- Shanghai – Composite: up 0.2% at 4,077.51
- Euro/dollar: down at $1.1824
- Pound/dollar: up at $1.3702
- Dollar/yen: up at 156.25
- WTI crude: up 1.0% at $63.84/barrel
- Brent crude: up 0.9% at $67.93/barrel
- New York – Dow: down 0.3% at 49,240.99
- London – FTSE 100: down 0.3% at 10,314.59
