Closing post
Time to wrap up…
Amazon’s shares have slumped after it announced plans to spend $200bn on capital expenditures in 2026 to expand its AI infrastructure.
Analysts said markets were spooked by the $600bn+ of AI investment recently announced by major tech companies, fearing the money may be wasted.
Software and data/analytic company stocks have dropped again today, on concerns that AI services may eat into their business models.
Deutsche Bank warned that the rotation out of software stocks into other sectors was reminiscent of the dot-com crash over 25 years ago.
But stock markets are recovering from their losses earlier this week; the UK’s FTSE 100 is up 64 points, or 0.6%, in late trading at 10,373 points, while the S&P 500 index is 1.2% higher in New York.
Bitcoin is also strengthening, up 9% today, after hitting its lowest level in over a year last night.
The average cost of a UK home passed £300,000 for the first time in January, as house prices increased at the fastest rate since November 2024.
The carmaker Stellantis has said it will take a €22bn (£19.1bn) charge and sell a stake in its battery joint venture after admitting that it “overestimated” the pace of the shift to electric vehicles.
And TikTok could be forced into changes to make the app less addictive to users after the EU indicated the platform had breached the bloc’s digital safety rules.
