Symbolic imageAI spending fears weigh on stocks and credit ahead of earnings week
Worries about AI profitability are spreading from US tech shares to Asian markets and risky debt. Asia's busiest earnings week now puts the AI boom to the test.
After the US tech selloff on Thursday, Bloomberg reports that Goldman Sachs cut its 12-month Kospi target by 25%, and describes the AI trade as unravelling. Bloomberg adds that fears over AI spending threaten to swamp Big Tech's strong earnings. It also quotes Apollo's Slok as saying AI has delivered zero payoff outside of tech. The Asian earnings season starting Monday, 26 October, is the next test.
Stress reaches risky debt
The strain has spread to the riskiest corporate debt, which Bloomberg calls a "total meltdown". Bloomberg also asks whether a 50% yield is plausible in the AI trade after CoreWeave. The Wall Street Journal reports that Treasury yields fell over the week as turmoil subsided.
China's self-reliance drive exposed
Nikkei Asia reports that doubts about AI profitability are weighing on Chinese stock markets. Home-grown AI is central to Beijing's strategy of technological self-reliance.