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Market Meltdown: AI, Crypto, Gold Plunge
6 Feb
Summary
- Asian stocks extended losses for a second day.
- Layoffs in the U.S. surged to a 17-year high.
- Gold fell 1.6% and Bitcoin plunged 3%.

Asian stock markets experienced a second consecutive day of losses in early trading on Friday, mirroring a significant selloff on Wall Street. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan saw a 0.9% decrease, with South Korea's Kospi index experiencing a notable 5% dive.
Concerns are mounting that new artificial intelligence models might negatively impact software company profits, contributing to the stock market downturn. This anxiety, coupled with a surge in U.S. employer layoffs in January—the highest for the month in 17 years—has led the S&P 500 to turn negative for the year.
Precious metals and cryptocurrencies are also facing severe volatility. Gold fell by 1.6% to $4,691.76, and silver saw an even steeper decline. The cryptocurrency market extended its losses following a substantial $2 trillion wipeout on Thursday, with Bitcoin dropping 3% to $61,238.64 and Ether decreasing by 1.8%.




