(Bloomberg) — Global equities retreated as Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek threatened to disrupt US firms’ artificial intelligence dominance.
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Contracts on the Nasdaq 100 fell 3%, the most in more than a month, while S&P 500 futures retreated 1.6%. A slump in the European stocks benchmark was led by an almost 9% tumble in the shares of ASML Holding NV, which builds cutting-edge chipmaking machines.
DeepSeek’s latest AI model comes as four of the so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks — Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Meta Platforms Inc. and Tesla Inc. — post results later this week, with traders watching how the companies will defend their generous AI spending. DeepSeek is seen by some as cost-effective while running on less-advanced chips, posing a challenge to US industry leaders like Nvidia Corp. and their sky-high valuations.
“While it remains to be seen if DeepSeek will prove to be a viable, cheaper alternative in the long term, initial worries are centered on whether US tech giants’ pricing power is being threatened,” said Jun Rong Yeap, a market strategist at IG Asia.
Bitcoin slid more than 6.5% to below $98,000 on Monday morning in Europe before paring some losses.
Traders booked profits after US President Donald Trump on Friday ordered the creation of a working group to advise the White House on crypto policy in a long-awaited executive action. The order stopped short of confirming that the US would establish a Bitcoin reserve — something Trump had vowed to do on the campaign trail.
Key events this week:
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ECB President Christine Lagarde and others speak, Monday
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US consumer confidence, durable goods, Tuesday
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Chile rate decision, Tuesday
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Australia CPI, Wednesday
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BOE Governor Andrew Bailey speaks, Wednesday
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US rate decision, Wednesday
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Tesla, Microsoft, Meta, ASML earnings, Wednesday
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Canada rate decision, Wednesday
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Brazil rate decision, Wednesday
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BOJ Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino speaks, Thursday
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Eurozone consumer confidence, unemployment, GDP, Thursday
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ECB rate decision, Thursday
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South Africa rate decision, Thursday
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US GDP, jobless claims, Thursday
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Apple, Deutsche Bank, Shell earnings, Thursday
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Japan unemployment, Tokyo CPI, Friday
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US personal income & spending, PCE inflation, Friday
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Colombia unemployment, rate decision, Friday