“We’re seeing a lot of rotation from growth stocks to value stocks, moving from tech into other sectors, and a lot of dispersion of individual stock results,” said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers.
Investors were spooked on Tuesday by news that AI startup Anthropic – which created the Claude chatbot – had unveiled a tool that could be used by firms to carry out legal work.
The announcement hit firms in the software, financial services and asset management industries, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ending Tuesday down 1.4%.
“Investors fear the AI juggernaut will cut deeply into earnings as agents take over workflows and replace more traditional programmes,” said Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club.
Downbeat sales projections from Advanced Micro Devices compounded the darker mood, with the company’s share price tanking more than 15%.
Investors will be looking at earnings reports by Google-parent company Alphabet after the close of trading on Wednesday and Amazon on Thursday for indications about AI investment and revenue.
Massive spending to build data centres to run AI applications helped push equity markets to record highs last year, but recurring concerns that a bubble may be forming have recently prompted volatility.
These concerns were primarily that the hefty investments in AI may never make returns, while Tuesday’s selloff hit companies that could see their business activity disrupted by the technology.
Meanwhile, data showed private sector employment in the United States rose by a less-than-expected 22,000 jobs in January.
The “update serves as a reminder that the US remains far from a robust jobs market,” said eToro analyst Bret Kentwell.
If the jobs report prepared by the US Government, delayed by the shutdown, “shows a similar dynamic, it should at a minimum help keep the Fed from adopting an overly restrictive stance as the first quarter progresses”, he added.
The US Federal Reserve last week resisted pressure from the Trump Administration to cut interest rates, saying the US economy is expanding at a solid rate.
Investors expect it may next cut rates in June or July if the weakness in the labour market continues.
Separate data showed the US services sector maintained growth in January, boosting sentiment.
In Europe, shares in Danish pharmaceuticals group Novo Nordisk plunged more than 17% in Copenhagen after the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy anti-obesity drugs warned of lower sales this year.
Official data showed eurozone inflation eased below the European Central Bank’s 2% target in January, with the ECB expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Thursday.
The Bank of England is also expected to hold borrowing costs the same day.
Key figures at around 4.30pm GMT
New York – Dow: Up 0.7% at 49,605.49 points
New York – S&P 500: Down 0.2% at 6903.30
New York – Nasdaq Composite: Down 1.1% at 23,010.07
London – FTSE 100: Up 0.9% at 10,402.34 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: Up 1.2% at 8274.56 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: Down 0.7% at 24,603.04 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Down 0.8% at 54,293.36 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: up 0.1% at 26,847.32 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: up 0.9% at 4102.20 (close)
Euro/dollar: down at $1.1798 from $1.1829 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: down at $1.3651 from $1.3701
Dollar/yen: up at ¥156.71 from ¥155.74
Euro/pound: up at 86.44p from 86.30p
Brent North Sea Crude: Down less than 0.1% at $67.27 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: Down 0.3% at $63.03 per barrel
– Agence France-Presse