Markets continued to see sell-offs for the fourth consecutive session due to investors’ anxiety over soaring AI companies’ valuations and the instability of the artificial intelligence boom. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google parent company Alphabet, also warned in an interview with the BBC that “no company is going to be immune” to the impacts of the AI bubble bursting. He described the current AI investment wave as “extraordinary” while acknowledging that it has an “element of irrationality.”

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US markets saw steep declines: The S&P 500 closed down 0.8%, while the Dow Jones fell 1.1%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 1.2% during yesterday’s trade. Also driving the fall is speculation over US interest rates not getting cut as “quickly as hoped,” The Guardian reports, citing commentary from policymakers. Nervousness over tech giant Nvidia’s earnings and worry around massive debt over AI infrastructure are also adding to market volatility.

Could Nvidia’s earnings offer some comfort? US chipmaker Nvidia will release its quarterly results later today. Investors will also be on the lookout for September’s US jobs report, which will see the light tomorrow after government-shutdown related delays.

Behind the numbers: “A selloff in the world’s largest technology companies drove stocks to their longest slide since August, underscoring the US market’s narrow reliance on a handful of growth giants. Wall Street has grown increasingly concerned that AI isn’t yet generating enough revenue or profits to justify the massive spending on infrastructure,” Bloomberg wrote.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets are mixed in early trading this morning as investors assess the fallout from the sell-off. Japan’s Nikkei, the Shanghai Composite, and the Hang Seng are all in the green, looking at moderate gains, while the Kospi is down 0.2%.

TASI

11,099

+0.4% (YTD: -7.8%)

MSCI Tadawul 30

1,447

+0.5% (YTD: -4.1%)

NomuC

23,935

+0.1% (YTD: -24.0%)

USD : SAR (SAMA)

USD 3.75 Sell

USD 3.75 Buy

Interest rates

4.5% repo

4.0% reverse repo

EGX30

40,501

-1.4% (YTD: +36.2%)

ADX

9,882

-0.3% (YTD: +4.9%)

DFM

5,899

-1.0% (YTD: +14.3%)

S&P 500

6,617

-0.8% (YTD: +12.5%)

FTSE 100

9,552

-1.3% (YTD: +16.9%)

Euro Stoxx 50

5,535

-1.9% (YTD: +13.1%)

Brent crude

USD 64.56

-0.5%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 4.38

+0.2%

Gold

USD 4,061

-0.2%

BTC

USD 92,590

+0.4% (YTD: -1.1%)

Sukuk/bond market index

915.85

-0.3% (YTD: +1.5%)

S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk

152.03

+0.1% (YTD: +8.6%)

VIX (Fear gauge)

24.69

+10.3% (YTD: +42.3%)

THE CLOSING BELL: TADAWUL-

The TASI rose 0.4% yesterday on turnover of SAR 4.3 bn. The index is down 7.8% YTD.

In the green: Retal (+10.0%), 2P (+5.0%) and Alhammadi (+4.9%).

In the red: Taprco (-10.0%), Acig (-5.3%) and Saico (-4.9%).

THE CLOSING BELL: NOMU-

The NomuC rose 0.1% yesterday on turnover of SAR 19.5 mn. The index is down 24.0% YTD.

In the green: Horizon Food (+8.5%), Wajd Life (+5.9%) and Axelerated Solutions (+5.7%).

In the red: DRC (-6.0%), Molan (-5.5%) and Ratio (-5.2%).

CORPORATE ACTIONS-

Almunajem Foods’ board approved the distribution of SAR 60 mn in dividends for 2H 2025 at SAR 1 apiece, starting 16 December, it said in a Tadawul disclosure yesterday.

WSM for Information Technology received the Capital Market Authority’s approval to boost its capital by SAR 7.2 mn to SAR 28.6 mn by issuing one bonus share for every three existing ones, the authority said in a statement yesterday. WSM will finance the increase by tapping its retained earnings, raising the company’s shares to 2.9 mn.

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