Bitcoin drops 9% and Asian stocks decline following tech-driven losses on Wall Street

Asian Markets and U.S. Futures Decline Amid Tech Sector Weakness

Asian stock markets and U.S. futures mostly moved lower on Friday, mirroring Wall Street’s recent downturn as technology shares continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

Bitcoin Retreats Sharply

Bitcoin tumbled to nearly half its previous all-time high, erasing all the gains it had made since Donald Trump secured his second term as U.S. President. The cryptocurrency was trading about 9% lower, just below $65,000 early Friday, after briefly plunging more than 12% to under $64,000 the day before. This marks a significant drop from its October peak above $124,000.

Regional Market Performance

• Japan: The Nikkei 225 climbed 0.5% to 54,073.52, rebounding from earlier losses this week, with technology companies leading the advance. SoftBank Group gained 1.9%, while Tokyo Electron, a major chipmaker, surged 3%. Japan is set to hold a general election on Sunday, where Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is seeking a stronger mandate for her policies.
• South Korea: The Kospi index dropped 1.7% to 5,076.69, pressured by declines in tech stocks. Samsung Electronics slipped 0.9% and SK Hynix fell 0.6%.
• Hong Kong: The Hang Seng index slid 1.2% to 26,569.14.
• China: The Shanghai Composite was little changed at 4,075.37.
• Australia: The S&P/ASX 200 retreated 1.6% to 8,745.60.
• Taiwan: The Taiex edged down 0.2%.

U.S. Futures and Wall Street Recap

Futures for the S&P 500 were down 0.3%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 0.2%.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 declined 1.2% to 6,798.40, marking its sixth loss in seven sessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell 1.2% to 48,908.72, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 1.6% to 22,540.59.

Technology Sector Under Pressure

Technology stocks were among the hardest hit, as doubts linger about whether the substantial investments in artificial intelligence by major tech firms will yield sufficient returns. Qualcomm shares plunged 8.5% despite surpassing revenue expectations, while Alphabet slipped 0.5% amid concerns over its heavy AI spending.

Amazon’s stock dropped 11% in after-hours trading following its announcement to increase capital expenditures by over 50% to $200 billion, focusing on AI and other initiatives.

Meanwhile, the launch of new AI tools by American startup Anthropic has intensified the sell-off in software stocks, as its advanced technology could disrupt or replace many traditional software products and services.

Commodities and Currency Movements

Gold and silver prices have fluctuated this week after a prolonged rally, as investors sought safer assets amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainties. Gold slipped 1% on Friday to $4,843.70 per ounce, after approaching $5,600 last week.

Silver prices fell 6.6% to $71.63 per ounce after earlier gains, and have lost over 31% since last Friday.

In early Friday trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil increased by 35 cents to $63.64 a barrel, while Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 36 cents to $67.91 a barrel.

The U.S. dollar weakened to 156.74 Japanese yen from 157.03 yen. The euro strengthened slightly, trading at $1.1789 compared to $1.1777 previously.

Reporting contributed by Stan Choe, AP Business Writer.