SoftBank shares slide 8% as global AI stocks tumble

Shares of SoftBank Group fell on Friday as investors worldwide reeled in artificial intelligence stocks, triggering a sell-off across the ￰0￱ stock plunged more than 8% in Tokyo, extending losses from earlier this week as a shift in sentiment toward the high-flying technology sector drove prices ￰1￱ sell-off comes as doubts grow over whether valuations for AI-related startups have surged too high, too ￰2￱ flocked to the sector all year, but now they are cashing out and reconsidering how soon AI companies can turn technological promise into reliable ￰3￱ has become one of the most ardent champions of AI ￰4￱ its Vision Funds and direct investments, the firm has holdings in semiconductor manufacturing, artificial intelligence software, data infrastructure, and ￰5￱ stance also makes the company especially vulnerable as investor sentiment swings against ￰6￱ stock had made a modest recovery on Thursday, climbing almost 3 percent after its steep decline the day before.

Wednesday’s 10% decline was the company’s worst trading day since ￰7￱ rebound was fleeting, however, and Friday’s slide erased those ￰8￱ broader Japanese tech market was also under ￰9￱ shares of the semiconductor testing company Advantest plummeted, and those of the chipmaker Renesas Electronics also ￰10￱ of Tokyo Electron, a major manufacturer of semiconductor production equipment, also ￰11￱ shares of SK Hynix, a supplier of memory chips to AI data centers, dropped in trading in South ￰12￱ decreases are also part of a broader rotation out of high-risk, high-reward sectors, analysts ￰13￱ chip orders, rising funding costs, and longer times for AI adoption are driving this ￰14￱ decline weighs on sentiment The decline in Asia mirrors losses in major ￰15￱ and semiconductor shares from the previous ￰16￱ of Qualcomm declined after the company reported better-than-expected results, but noted that it could lose a future supply deal with Apple.

AMD, which had rallied earlier in the week with hopes for AI chip demand, also lost ￰17￱ companies closely associated with developing AI technology, such as Palantir and Oracle, also ￰18￱ Nvidia and Meta Platforms, among the companies central to the current AI boom, finished lower in the ￰19￱ weakness sent a message to global investors that momentum in the sector could be waning, at least in the short ￰20￱ strategists say investors are rethinking their assumptions about how quickly AI investment will lead to profit growth. Still, many companies are investing large sums in research and cloud infrastructure, as well as manufacturing their own specialized computer chips, without immediate returns on such ￰21￱ feels pressure over its bet on a diminished AI future Under Chief Executive Masayoshi Son, SoftBank’s long-term strategy is based on the conviction that artificial intelligence will revolutionize industries ￰22￱ company’s investment in Arm, the British chip designer whose architecture forms the basis of many of the world’s mobile and data devices, has been a key component of this ￰23￱ in Arm’s valuation during the first part of the year had helped buoy SoftBank’s overall view.

However, its fortunes have swung dramatically as markets have ￰24￱ Vision Funds are also undergoing an overhaul, as SoftBank reduces its holdings in non-core assets and focuses more closely on companies with AI ￰25￱ global markets become more cautious, the company is now under pressure to demonstrate clearer and more immediate pathways to profitability from its AI ￰26￱ earnings arrive and central banks make decisions, as global chip demand applies pressure (and occasionally relief) to stocks, investors will be trying to decide whether the current selloff is a quick correction or the beginning of something more ￰27￱ next few weeks will present a critical juncture for SoftBank in determining how its AI narrative unfolds in the ￰28￱ smartest crypto minds already read our ￰29￱ in?

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