Asian stocks extended losses into a second day in early trading on Friday as a selloff on Wall Street intensified, with precious metals and cryptocurrencies gripped by wrenching volatility.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.9 per cent, led by a 5.0 per cent dive in South Korea’s Kospi which triggered a brief trading halt shortly after the open. Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 0.7 per cent, while S&P 500 e-mini futures slid 0.6 per cent as Nasdaq e-mini futures tumbled 1.1 per cent.
“Investors are questioning their commitment to the pillars that have underpinned markets over the past six months: AI, crypto, and precious metals,” said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG in Sydney. “This raises the odds of a deeper unwind.”
Stocks sold off overnight on fears that new AI models may start to eat into the profits of software firms, with the S&P 500 turning negative for the year as fears around the labour market grew.
Layoffs announced by US employers surged in January to the highest level for the month in 17 years, a survey from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed on Thursday.
Precious metals saw little respite, with gold falling 1.6 per cent to $US4,691.76 ($A6,720.51), and silver plunging another 8.9 per cent to $US64.912 ($A92.980).
Cryptocurrency markets extended also losses after breaching several milestones in a $US2 trillion ($A2.9 trillion) wipeout on Thursday, with bitcoin tumbling 3.0 per cent to $US61,238.64 ($A87,718.71) and ether down 1.8 per cent at $US1,813.77 ($A2,598.06).