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February 6, 2026 – 03:24

(Bloomberg) — Equities and cryptocurrencies showed signs of stabilizing after an early slump in Asian trading, following heavy losses in US tech stocks. Precious metals also steadied.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.4%, having dropped as much as 1.3% earlier. Contracts for the Nasdaq 100 Index also pared losses significantly, having slipped more than 1% earlier. Other markets also appeared to stabilize with Bitcoin rising 3.6% after falling to nearly $60,000. Silver erased all its losses to trade flat, having tumbled 9.6%.

Following a sharp selloff on Wall Street Thursday, sentiment toward the technology sector remained weak as Amazon.com Inc. shares tumbled 11% in extended trading. The company plans to spend $200 billion on artificial intelligence this year, worrying investors that its colossal AI bet may not pay off in the long run.

“It’s been a tough week for investors who were heavily exposed to the parts of the market that led the upside,” said Mona Mahajan at Edward Jones. “Technology and AI come to mind, but more recently we’ve also seen gold and precious metals sell off, as well as Bitcoin and the broader crypto space.”

There’s been no single cause like there was last April when President Donald Trump’s trade war sent markets into a fearful tailspin. Instead, it’s been a slow drumbeat of news that is sowing anxiety about valuations that many suspected had already run up too far — and causing investors to pull back all at once.

That was clear again on Thursday, when the S&P 500 slid 1.2%, its third straight daily decline, and the Nasdaq 100 extended its deepest slide since April. Software stocks extended their tumble after Anthropic, an artificial-intelligence company, rolled out a new model that’s designed to carry out financial research, underscoring the competitive threat from the new technology.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq has seen more than $1 trillion wiped out since Federal Reserve policymakers signaled last week reluctance to lower rates again anytime soon.

Shares in South Korea, a bellwether for artificial intelligence investments, dropped as much as 5.1% on Friday, before paring some of the losses.

“Investors are questioning their commitment to the pillars that have underpinned markets over the past six months: AI, crypto, and precious metals,” Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG Australia, wrote in a note. “This raises the odds of a deeper unwind.”

The weak sentiment pushed investors toward Treasuries, sending two-year yields to the lowest in almost a month during New York trading. Treasuries stabilized during Asian hours with the yield on the benchmark 10-year trading at around 4.18% on Friday.

The downbeat mood was exacerbated by the lowest monthly US job openings since 2020, alongside a rise in jobless claims as companies announced the largest number of job cuts for any January since 2009.

“The latest labor figures reiterate that the US jobs market is not firing on all cylinders, a risk the Fed and investors will have to take seriously should further deterioration occur,” said Bret Kenwell at eToro. “Volatility could persist, particularly if near-term uncertainty increases.”

Corporate Highlights:

Rio Tinto Group is walking away from talks to acquire Glencore Plc after the two sides failed to agree on valuation, scuttling a potential mega merger that would have created the world’s largest mining company. Blackstone Inc.-backed Liftoff Mobile Inc. postponed its initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter, after tech stocks spiraled on concerns over the impact of artificial intelligence on operating companies. Roblox Corp. reported fourth-quarter users and bookings that beat analysts’ expectations thanks to a slate of hit games. Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

S&P 500 futures fell 0.3% as of 11:23 a.m. Tokyo time Japan’s Topix rose 0.6% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.8% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.6% The Shanghai Composite fell 0.1% Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.1% Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1788 The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 156.80 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.9390 per dollar Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin rose 1.9% to $64,258.75 Ether rose 2.5% to $1,892.43 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.19% Japan’s 10-year yield declined 1.5 basis points to 2.210% Australia’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.83% Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed Spot gold rose 0.3% to $4,792.78 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Richard Henderson.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.