London stocks are set to open lower on Friday after renewed fears over heavy AI spending weighed on Wall Street. Futures point to the FTSE 100 to fall 50 points, or 0.5%, after closing down 0.9% on Thursday.
Wall Street ended lower on Thursday, with tech losses leading the decline, as the Dow and S&P 500 both fell 1.2% and the Nasdaq was off 1.6%. Asian markets were mixed on Friday, with Tokyo higher but Hong Kong and Sydney sharply lower.
Overnight, Bitcoin suffered its steepest one-day fall on record, with $200bn wiped off its value after a Wall Street tech rout driven by AI fears.
The cryptocurrency dropped as much as 14%, falling below $64,000 for the first time since September 2024 and to its lowest level since Donald Trump’s election.
The plunge leaves Bitcoin around 50% below its October 2025 record high of $126,198. The sell-off followed a third straight day of losses in tech stocks, with the Nasdaq down 1.6% on Thursday and more than 4% lower over five sessions.
Investor unease has been fuelled by surging AI-related spending plans. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said capital expenditure will reach $200bn in 2026, far above expectations, following Alphabet’s announcement of up to $185bn in spending. Amazon’s earnings narrowly missed forecasts, adding to scepticism about returns on massive AI investment.
Markets continued to digest central bank decisions, with the Bank of England holding rates at 3.75% in a narrow 5–4 vote, and analysts still expecting a possible March cut. The European Central Bank also kept rates unchanged.
Asian markets are mostly lower this morning, though Tokyo’s Nikkei bucked the trend, rising 0.8%. Shanghai’s SSE Composite is down 0.2%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has fallen 1.3%, Seoul’s Kospi is 1.3% lower, and Sydney’s ASX 200 closed down 2%.
