Markets fell on Thursday afternoon as concerns about the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and its potential to disrupt multiple industries weighed on investor sentiment.
Bitcoin, the largest digital asset by market capitalization, fell 2.5% to trade below $66,000, dragging the entire crypto market lower. Ethereum toggled around $1,900 as the digital asset tracked equity losses.
The S&P 500 fell 1.1% and the Nasdaq fell more than 1.4%. Among big tech stocks, Apple fell 5%, Tesla fell 3%, and Meta and Amazon both fell 2.5%. Nvidia fell 0.5% on the day, while Alphabet and Microsoft were flat.
Commodities suffered significant declines. Gold fell 3% to about $4,930, and silver fell nearly 10% to $76.
Software stocks have had a tough run on concerns that new AI tools will duplicate core products or squeeze profits. Salesforce is down 2% this session and is now down more than 31% since January. The iShares Expanded Technology Software Sector ETF is down 3% and is down about 32% from its recent high.
Attention now turns to Friday's inflation statistics. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect consumer prices to rise 0.3% in January from the previous month, across both the headline and major indexes.
The US dollar index rose slightly to 96.93, indicating a move towards a defensive stance.
