Stocks in the chip and artificial-intelligence industries climbed after OpenAI announced partnerships with South Korean companies for Stargate, a $US500 billion ($758 billion) project aimed at building AI infrastructure.
Samsung Electronics rose 3.5 per cent in Seoul, and SK Hynix jumped 9.9 per cent.
The announcement also sent ripples around the world. On Wall Street, Advanced Micro Devices climbed 3.7 per cent, and Broadcom gained 2.2 per cent. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., a major maker of chips, saw its stock that trades in the United States slip 0.3 per cent.
Excitement around AI and the massive spending underway because of it has been a major reason the US stock market has hit record after record, along with hopes for easier interest rates. But AI stocks have become so dominant, and so much money has poured into the industry that worries are rising about a potential bubble that could eventually lead to disappointment for investors.
Occidental Petroleum fell 7.8 per cent after it agreed to sell its chemical business, OxyChem, to Berkshire Hathaway for $US9.7 billion in cash. It could be the final big purchase for Berkshire Hathaway with famed investor Warren Buffett as its CEO.
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Fair Isaac jumped 20.7 per cent after announcing a program that will allow mortgage lenders to access and distribute FICO credit scores directly to their customers, cutting out such big credit bureaus as TransUnion, Equifax and Experian.
TransUnion’s stock tumbled 9.5 per cent, while Equifax slid 7.7 per cent. The stock of the United Kingdom’s Experian fell 3.6 per cent in London.
London’s FTSE 100 edged down by 0.2 per cent, but indexes were much stronger across Europe and Asia. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.7 per cent for one of the biggest gains following the big jumps for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury ticked down to 4.09 per cent from 4.12 per cent late on Wednesday.
