Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insightsASX today – Well, batten down those hatches tight, traders: We’re heading for a -1.2% nosedive first up this morning, Friday, with all the pain from Wall Street leading us towards a 100-point retreat to end a topsy-turvy week.Listen to the HotCopper podcast for in-depth discussions and insights on all the biggest headlines from throughout the week. On Spotify, Apple, and more.Things have been bloody over in the U.S., with the Nasdaq d ...

Core Viewpoint - Amazon's shares experienced a significant decline following the release of mixed fourth-quarter earnings and an aggressive forecast for AI spending in 2026, which exceeded analyst expectations by a substantial margin [1][2]. Financial Performance - Revenue for the fourth quarter rose 14% year-over-year to $213.4 billion, slightly surpassing Wall Street analysts' consensus estimates [1]. - Earnings per share for the quarter were reported at $1.95 on a diluted basis, missing expectations by one cent [1]. Stock Market Reaction - Amazon's stock fell 4% during regular trading and an additional 7% in after-hours trading after the earnings report was released [2]. AI Investment Strategy - The company announced plans to invest $200 billion in AI by 2026, which is over $55 billion more than what analysts had anticipated [2]. - CEO Andy Jassy emphasized that the substantial capital expenditure is justified by strong demand for existing offerings and significant opportunities in AI, chips, robotics, and low earth orbit satellites [4]. Advertising and Viewership Growth - The holiday quarter saw Prime Video achieve record viewership for Thursday Night Football, averaging 15.33 million viewers per game across 15 regular-season games [5]. - Prime Video also began streaming NBA games as part of an 11-year deal initiated last October [5]. - Advertising revenue for Prime increased by 22% year-over-year, reaching $21.3 billion, marking the latest in a series of quarterly increases exceeding 20% [6].

Quick Read OpenAI’s latest funding round valued the company at $830B. Anthropic is currently valued at $350B with an enterprise and AI safety focus. SpaceX and xAI are combining for an IPO estimated at $1.25T in late 2026. A recent study identified one single habit that doubled Americans’ retirement savings and moved retirement from dream, to reality. Read more here. Whether or not this is the year that some of the biggest AI IPOs hit the public markets, there's certainly a packed pipeline of pr ...

Software stocks are taking it on the chin again on Wednesday. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF was down another 3% as the software sector faced selling pressure for a second straight session.The decline comes after a particularly brutal sell-off on Tuesday as investors panicked about Anthropic's new AI tool, which can perform a range of clerical and administrative tasks for people working in the legal industry. Legal software stocks got crushed, but the selling spilled over into the broader s ...

US stocks sank on Tuesday as investors digested a wave of tech-focused earnings, while precious metals jumped to continue their wild ride and a partial government shutdown neared an end. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) sank 1.4%, with its sell-off gaining steam throughout the day. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell around 0.3% after the blue-chip benchmark led gains on Monday. Palantir's (PLTR) surprisingly strong quarterly results signaled the AI trade m ...

Group 1: Market Overview - US stocks experienced a decline, with the Nasdaq Composite falling by 1.6%, the S&P 500 losing nearly 1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreasing by around 0.4% [1] - The tech sector faced pressure despite initial gains, influenced by a wave of earnings reports and ongoing concerns about a partial government shutdown [1] Group 2: Tech Sector Performance - Palantir reported strong quarterly results, indicating continued demand for its AI platform, which initially boosted tech stocks [2] - However, major tech companies like Nvidia, Amazon, and Microsoft saw declines, with Nvidia dropping over 3% due to cooling relations with OpenAI and concerns over potential overspending in the AI sector [3][4] - PayPal's earnings and forecast missed estimates, leading to a stock drop of over 16% amid a broader sell-off in software stocks [5] Group 3: Corporate Developments - The Walt Disney Company appointed Josh D'Amaro as the new CEO, set to replace Bob Iger on March 18, but shares in Disney fell following the announcement [6] Group 4: Precious Metals Market - Precious metals experienced significant volatility, with gold surging over 6%, marking its largest daily gain since 2008, while silver rebounded dramatically, increasing over 13% [7]

Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly moved from a future concept to a major area of corporate spending, and investors have followed close behind. As AI stocks swing and questions about valuations resurface, many investors worry they are facing a bubble that’s about to pop, taking portfolios down with it. Experts discussed how to invest ahead of a possible bubble and offered some general tips to keep your portfolio safe. Is AI Really a Bubble? Before even answering how to invest before an AI bubble, ...

US stocks mostly fell as investors digested a wave of tech-focused earnings, precious metals jumped to continue their wild ride, and a partial government shutdown rolled into its fourth day. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) sank by 0.8% after initially beginning the session in the green, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost 0.4% after also starting the day up. Moving the other direction, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) managed to avoid losses and pick up 0.1% after the blue-chip benchmark led gai ...

US stock futures rose on Tuesday as earnings rolled in, with Palantir's (PLTR) outlook fueling faith in AI demand and precious metals jumping to continue their wild ride. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) moved up 0.6%, while those on the S&P 500 (ES=F) edged up 0.3%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) crept into the green after the blue-chip benchmark led gains on Monday with a 500-point advance. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) is eyeing a fresh record after Palantir's (PLTR) surprisingly stro ...

Core Insights - AMD reported Q4 earnings that exceeded expectations, with EPS of $1.53 and revenue of $10.3 billion, surpassing Wall Street's estimates of $1.32 EPS and $9.6 billion revenue [1] - Despite the positive earnings report, AMD's stock price declined following the announcement [1] Financial Performance - Q1 revenue guidance is projected between $9.5 billion and $10.1 billion, which is better than the Street's estimate of $9.4 billion, although some forecasts anticipated over $10 billion [2] - Data center revenue for the quarter reached $5.4 billion, exceeding expectations of $4.97 billion [3] - Client business revenue was reported at $3.1 billion, surpassing the anticipated $2.9 billion, while gaming revenue was $843 million, slightly below the expected $855 million [4] Market Context - AMD is facing challenges from a global memory shortage, which may lead to increased prices for PC makers and potential demand destruction in its PC and gaming segments [6] - The company has seen significant stock price increases over the past year, with AMD up 112% and Nvidia up 54% [3] Product Developments - AMD showcased new products at CES 2026, including the Helios rack-scale server, which is positioned as a competitor to Nvidia's offerings [7] - The upcoming MI500 series of GPUs is claimed to provide up to a 1,000x increase in AI performance compared to the older MI300X chips, indicating a strong focus on the AI data center market [8] - CEO Lisa Su anticipates the AI data center market could be worth around $1 trillion by 2030, highlighting the strategic importance of these developments for AMD [8]