Tech Stock Selloff Deepens, AI Safety Discussion
Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific. The global rout in technology stocks this week deepened as investors rotated out of the hottest trade of the year and sought safety in Treasuries and currencies such as the yen. Crude oil extended its gains. After a sharp drop in chip stocks on Wall Street, the weakness spread across Asia, led by South Korea's Kospi Index — a bellwether for the artificial intelligence trade. The index fell 1.5%, putting it on course for its worst close since April as chip heavyweight Samsung Electronics Co. retreated. MSCI Inc.'s Asia Pacific equities gauge fell 0.7%, hovering around levels last seen in July. The rout in the artificial intelligence trade drove investors toward the safety of bonds. Treasuries held the previous session's gains after staging their biggest rally in more than two years. The benchmark 10-year yield, which fell 17 basis points Thursday, traded at 4.97%. Government debt in Japan and Australia tracked that move and advanced. We speak to Winnie Hsu, Asia Equities Reporter. And - rising anxiety over catastrophic risks from artificial intelligence has spurred a groundswell of calls in Washington and Silicon Valley for new safeguards on the rapidly evolving technology, yet there's little consensus on next steps. For more on this, Bloomberg's Haidi Stroud-Watts and Paul Allen spoke to FailSafe President and Co-founder Wui Foo. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.