Bitcoin bounces and world shares are mixed after Wall Street is slammed
by tech losses
[February 06, 2026] By
CHAN HO-HIM
HONG KONG (AP) — World shares were mixed Friday after Wall Street
extended losses driven by heavy selling of technology stocks. .
The price of bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, appeared to
have stabilized, rebounding from its biggest losses to trade about 7%
lower at around $66,000. It briefly sank more than 12% to below $64,000
on Thursday. That’s down from a record of above $124,000 in October.
The future for the S&P 500 was 0.3% higher, while that for the Dow Jones
Industrial Average was up 0.1%.
In Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.2% to 8,225.09, while Germany’s
DAX gained 0.1% to 24,527.18. Britain’s FTSE 100 was little changed at
10,305.51.
Most Asian markets declined, but Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.8% to
54,253.68, recovering from losses earlier this week, with
technology-related stocks leading gains. SoftBank Group rose 2.2% and
chipmaker Tokyo Electron rose 2.6%.
Shares have advanced on expectations that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi
will win a stronger public mandate for her policies in a general
election on Sunday.
Shares of Toyota Motor rose 2%. The carmaker said Friday its CEO Koji
Sato will step down in April, and to be replaced by the company's chief
financial officer, Kenta Kon.
South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.4% to 5,089.14, weighed down by tech shares.
Samsung Electronics, the country’s biggest listed company, fell 0.4%.
Chipmaker SK Hynix also lost 0.4%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.2% to 26,559.95 and the Shanghai Composite
index gave up 0.3% to 4,065.58.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 2% to 8,708.80.
Taiwan’s Taiex was virtually flat. India's Sensex traded 0.3% higher.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 1.2%, its sixth loss in the seven days.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.2% and the Nasdaq composite
dropped 1.6%.
Technology stocks were among the worst hit as concerns persist over
whether massive AI investments by many of the Big Tech firms will pay
off.
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Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite
Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate
between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top left, at the foreign
exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South
Korea, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
 Chipmaker Qualcomm sank 8.5% despite
better-than-expected quarterly revenues. Alphabet lost 0.5% as
investors were focused on its huge spendings on AI.
Amazon fell 11% in after hours trading Thursday after it announced
plans to boost capital spending by more than 50% to $200 billion in
AI and other areas.
American artificial intelligence startup Anthropic ’s new AI tools
also fueled the sell-off of software stocks on Wall Street this
week, as its sophistication means many traditional software
development services and products could be disrupted or replaced.
Gold and silver prices have been volatile this week following a
monthslong rally as investors moved into safe haven assets prompted
by factors including elevated geopolitical tensions. The price of
gold fell less than 0.1% on Friday to about $4,880 per ounce, after
nearing $5,600 last week.
The price of silver sank 4.5% to $73.30 per ounce after rising
earlier this week. It lost more than 31% a week earlier.
In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 41
cents to $63.70 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard,
rose 38 cents to $67.93 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar fell to 156.94 Japanese yen from 157.04 yen. The
euro was trading at $1.1796, up from $1.1779.
___
AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.
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