Asian equities traded unevenly on Friday, after NVIDIA's sharpest decline since last spring dragged down US markets. US stock futures also fell as investors reacted to Block CEO Jack Dorsey's announcement that the payment company would cut 40% of its workforce, citing the replacement of human roles by artificial intelligence.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 edged up 0.1% to 58,810.03. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.8% to 26,578.03. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.3% to 4,139.53. South Korea's KOSPI dropped 0.6% to 6,288.40 as investors took profits. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.1% to 9,184.10. India’s Sensex declined 0.4%.
S&P 500 futures fell 0.2%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 0.4%. At Thursday's US market close:
The S&P 500 declined 0.5% to 6,908.86. The Dow inched up less than 0.1% to 49,499.20. The Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.2% to 22,878.38.
Data showed a slight rise in US initial jobless claims last week, though the increase matched economists' expectations and remained near historic lows.
NVIDIA, which supplies key chips for the AI boom, again reported quarterly profit well above expectations, with revenue guidance also exceeding Wall Street forecasts. However, such strong results have become routine and failed to impress the market. NVIDIA shares fell 5.5%, marking their worst single-day performance since last April.
Payment firm Block, formerly known as Square, reported better-than-expected earnings before the market opened on Thursday, pushing its stock up 5%. After hours, Dorsey announced plans to cut around 4,000 employees from its workforce of 10,000, sending shares surging more than 20%.
In a letter to shareholders, Dorsey stated, "We believe Block will be far more valuable as a leaner, more agile, and natively intelligent company. All our future actions will serve this goal."
Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management commented, "Dorsey did what many CEOs only discuss behind closed doors. For years we debated whether AI would moderately affect employment—now we have a public case: a CEO explicitly stating that smart tools have reshaped how companies are built and run."
Despite NVIDIA's decline, about 70% of S&P 500 constituents advanced while 30% fell. Salesforce rose 4% after posting better-than-expected quarterly results.
Companies across sectors—from freight logistics to financial services—saw their shares decline as investors worried about AI disruption or even obsolescence.
In other US market moves: Streaming giant Netflix surged 9.2% after hours as it withdrew from bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery, leaving Paramount Global, controlled by Skydance, in a stronger position to acquire the Hollywood rival. Netflix stated that continuing the bid was no longer financially attractive after Paramount's offer was deemed superior.
Entertainment conglomerate Warner Bros. Discovery reported a fourth-quarter loss of $252 million, with its stock dipping 0.3%.
In early Friday trading: US benchmark crude oil rose 43 cents to $65.64 per barrel. Prices had swung sharply during indirect US-Iran nuclear talks, rebounding after a Thursday drop to $63.60. Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained 27 cents to $71.11.
Currency movements: The US dollar fell to 155.80 yen. The euro rose to 1.1810 against the dollar.
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