Artificial intelligence-focused stocks are under pressure on Friday, dragging down tech and bitcoin-related stocks. lower at the start of the American session.
Chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO), the ninth-largest asset by market capitalization, fell 10% despite strong earnings as its outlook disappointed investors’ high expectations.
The Nasdaq index was down more than 1% in the first hour of the session. Added to that was Oracle’s 10% drop on Thursday and another 3% drop on Friday, as investors grew increasingly concerned that the hot topic of AI that has fueled much of this year’s stock gains could be running out of steam.
Bitcoin, trading around $92,500 overnight, plunged 2% after the U.S. stock market recently opened at $89,800, extending choppy action throughout the week. A consistent theme this week was bitcoin setting intraday lows during U.S. trading hours, a trend that led to the filing of the AfterDark Hours ETF project.
Bitcoin miners, some of whom are increasingly turning to AI to diversify, showed a similar reaction to Broadcom’s failure. Cabin 8 (HUT) fell more than 5%. Iren (NOTHING) and Riot (RIOT) are down around 4%, while Cipher (CIFR) and Iren (IREN) are both down around 2% over the past day.
Crypto-related stocks also fell alongside the Nasdaq. Robinhood (HOOD) and Strategy (MSTR) were both down almost 2%. Stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) was hit hard and fell more than 5%. Coinbase (COIN) fell slightly.
Markets were already under pressure after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech on Wednesday, which hinted at a possible pause in rate cuts in January. As a result, markets now only expect two rate cuts in 2026 instead of three. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, who opposed a rate cut in December, however, said he expected more in 2026 than the current median projection.
Several other Federal Reserve members will also speak during the day, as the blackout period imposed on the central bank following its December meeting on Wednesday ends. Traders will be looking for indications of whether Fed officials agree with Powell on keeping rates steady in January.
