Online retailer Amazon’s logo and lettering can be seen on the facade of Amazon’s German headquarters.
Sven Hoppe | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Amazon Following in the footsteps of the same tech giants microsoftand not in a good way. Shares of the e-commerce and cloud giant fell more than 11% in after-hours trading after the company reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter results.
But the bigger shock comes from Amazon’s huge projected capital spending of $200 billion, far higher than the $146.6 billion expected by analysts and significantly higher than the roughly $131 billion in 2025.
That number also dwarfs Alphabet’s expected capital spending range of $175 billion to $185 billion, but it’s already giving traders and analysts pause. The message from the market was clear. Investors are growing wary of how much Big Tech companies are spending to pursue the next stage in artificial intelligence.
Rising capital spending and concerns that AI is eating into the value of software companies contributed to Thursday’s slide in tech stocks. of Nasdaq Composite It fell by 1.59% due to the decline in . Nvidia, oracle and Qualcommamong others. Mass layoffs in the US in January put further pressure on stock prices. of S&P500 It will decline by 1.23% and will be in the red in 2026. Dow Jones Industrial Average It retreated by 1.2%.
But for Stephen Tuckwood, director of investments at Modern Wealth Management, the market decline was a “silver lining”, arguing that it showed “the market has insight at the moment and not just irrational exuberance”.
Perhaps reflecting some of that insight, Bitcoin fell to $62,736 as of 7:50 a.m. Singapore (6:50 p.m. ET), its lowest level since November 2024. Other cryptocurrencies such as Ether and Solana have also stalled this week.
Beyond markets, politics will be in focus in Asia this weekend. Japan will hold a snap general election this Sunday, and the latest opinion polls predict that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party will win in a landslide. Thailand is also scheduled to elect its political leader on the same day, but investors are likely to focus more on Japan given the potential for Takaichi’s expansionary fiscal stance to impact the yen and government bonds, which play a large role in global markets.
—CNBC’s Annie Palmer contributed to this report.
What you need to know today
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that President Trump will decide on an investigation into the Fed chairman. This was in response to a question from Sen. Elizabeth Warren about whether she would investigate potential Fed chair Kevin Warsh if President Trump does not cut interest rates.
U.S. layoffs in January reached the highest level since 2009 to begin the year, the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday. Employers announced 108,435 layoffs in the same month, an increase of 118% from the same period last year and a 205% increase from December 2025.
Novo Nordisk announces legal action him and her After the telemedicine provider announced it would launch a cheaper copycat version. Novo’s Wegovy Weight Loss Pills. The price is $49, much cheaper than the $149 price tag for Novo’s branded pills.
The S&P 500 index has fallen into negative territory for 2026 after the index posted a loss on Thursday. Other major U.S. indexes also fell as tech stocks sold off. pan-european Stocks 600 It fell by 1.05%. The Bank of England and the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged.
(PRO) What should you buy in this “Software Armageddon”? Wedbush analyst Dan Ives thinks five software stocks are still worth holding amid the market meltdown around the sector.
And finally…
Gold bull market remains strong after historic metals selloff, but silver could be in even rougher waters
Investment banks are doubling down on their investments in gold, but are cautioning against going all-in on silver as precious metals continue to seesaw after Friday’s historic selloff.
UBS strategists said they view gold’s move as “normal volatility within a structural uptrend, rather than the end of a bull market.” In a note Tuesday, Goldman Sachs analysts also remained bullish despite the decline.
“Our gold forecast of $5,400/toz by December 2026 remains subject to significant upside risk,” they said.
— Chloe Taylor
