Global stocks rise as tech bounces after rout over AI worries

Global stock markets experienced a rebound on Friday after a recent sell-off prompted by concerns over the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI). Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh, speaking at the IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok, highlighted AI as the most significant change to the global economy in his lifetime, reassuring investors of its potential benefits.

The technology's impact on various markets was evident, with Seoul and Tokyo indices closing the week with strong gains driven by chipmakers SK hynix and Kioxia, which had previously suffered during the AI-driven sell-off. European stock markets also saw an increase during midday trading, though they contain fewer tech giants than their Asian and US counterparts.

The recent market volatility was largely attributed to worries about AI spending, often fueled by high debt levels, as seen in the case of New Jersey-based CoreWeave, whose market value dropped 15.5% on Wednesday amid concerns over its debt and bond yields. However, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's defense of his company's investment in cloud infrastructure provider CoreWeave helped alleviate some of the market's fears, causing CoreWeave shares to rise nearly 6% in response.