This photo illustration shows the DeepSeek app logo displayed on a mobile phone in Brussels on January 28, 2025. Fears of upheaval in the AI gold rush rocked Wall Street, following the emergence of a popular ChatGPT-like model from China, with US President Donald Trump saying it was a “wake-up call” for Silicon Valley. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)
LONDON, United Kingdom — Stock markets mostly rose Friday, led by New York after strong results from Apple reassured investors that the tech sector was still healthy after a volatile week, though European shares were hit by a late bout of profit-taking.
AI-related stocks, particularly key chipmaker Nvidia, had plunged early in the week after China’s DeepSeek unveiled an artificial intelligence model rivalling those of US tech giants but developed at a small fraction of the cost.
Article continues after this advertisementBut markets have clawed back most of those losses thanks to encouraging earnings and company strategy updates, and as some investors re-evaluated the risks US firms face from Chinese competition.
FEATURED STORIES BUSINESS DA may declare food security emergency for rice on Feb 4 BUSINESS P200 wage hike may cause economic disaster – Cebu business leader BUSINESS White House says Trump to impose Canada, Mexico, China tariffs“Monday’s sell-off was likely an overreaction, as markets tend to ‘shoot first and ask questions later’,” said Daniela Sabin Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.
“Big US tech stocks still maintain significant competitive advantages that will make them difficult to disrupt overnight,” she said.
Article continues after this advertisementFinancial markets also digested the latest US inflation data, with the Federal Reserve’s favourite inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, accelerating for a third month in a row, reaching 2.6 percent in December as expected.
Article continues after this advertisement“While there’s still further progress to be made on inflation, investors can breathe a sigh of relief and refocus on the market’s more notable fundamentals, like earnings growth and the economy,” said Bret Kenwell, US investment analyst at the eToro trading platform.
Article continues after this advertisementThe Dow was little changed near midday Friday, while the wider S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were both higher.
Apple shares climbed about three percent at the opening and were last up about one percent after the tech titan reported that profit and revenue grew strongly, even if iPhone sales did not rise as fast as analysts’ expectations.
Article continues after this advertisementLondon’s benchmark FTSE 100 hit fresh highs, helped by an almost 12 percent surge in the share price of Smiths Group after the British engineering company said it planned to streamline its business and return substantial sums to shareholders.
But Paris and Frankfurt ended little changed as early rises fizzled. European stocks had one of their best months in two years in January with Europe-wide indexes rising six percent since the start of the year.
Data showed that German inflation unexpectedly slowed in January, the first decline in months, bolstering the case for further rate cuts by the European Central Bank.
The ECB cut rates on Thursday, its fifth reduction since June.
But investors are also bracing for tariffs that US President Donald Trump has vowed to impose on imports from Canada and Mexico this weekend.
Concerns over Trump’s trade tactics pushed gold to new records above $2,800 an ounce.
“The gold price is proving its haven credentials, as investors choose it to hedge fears about Trump’s tariff threats,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, even if the details of the potential tariffs are unclear.
“You’re just traumatized when you have these losses. At some point, you’re just glad you’re alive,” said Don Hornstein, an insurance law expert at the University of North Carolina. “And then, you have to turn to the business side of this. It’s tough.”
The dollar held on to recent gains against the pound, euro and yen, supported by the Fed indicating this week that it did not see a need to cut interest rates further while the country’s inflation remains elevated.
Next week, the Bank of England is widely forecast to trim its main interest rate as the British government struggles to grow its economy.
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classy slotsThe greenback weighed even more on the Mexican peso and Canadian dollar as Trump said he would go ahead with the threatened 25 percent tariffs on the countries pencilled in for Saturday.rich ph
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