Enda Curran

Asia Tech Rally Defies SoftBank AI Concerns

Haidi Stroud-Watts, Avril Hong, Sam Liang, Aidan Gomez, Erica Poon Werkun, Chris Phelan, Goolsbee, Philip Lane, Heidi Stratwatz, Enda Curran, Michael Shepard, Anthony Stevens, Stephen Engel, Rachel Metz, Kirk Boudry, Jill Desis, Mark Cranfield, Catherine Lim

U.S. inflation data exceeding expectations prompted Federal Reserve officials to debate a 50 basis point rate hike, causing yields to surge while White House officials downplayed the urgency amid falling energy prices. Simultaneously, the artificial intelligence sector attracted massive capital with Anthropic targeting a $1.4 trillion IPO and TSMC deepening investments, even as SoftBank recorded significant losses and investors scrutinized circular financing dynamics. On the geopolitical front, the U.S. House blocked impeachment proceedings against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth while global markets adjusted to diverging monetary policies from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan.