China’s Xi reasserts Taiwan stance in call with Trump, while U.S. president pushes trade
Beijing stressed Taiwan is the most important issue while Trump highlights the trade aspects of the bilateral relations.
Oil slides in volatile trading as upcoming U.S.-Iran talks revive de-escalation hopes
Oil prices fell on Thursday after Washington and Tehran agreed to hold talks in Oman on Friday, even as differences persist over the scope of the discussions.
CNBC Daily Open: Alphabet capex plans spook investors, while AMD has a brutal day in markets
Alphabet expects capital expenditure for 2026 to come in between $175 billion and $185 billion — at the higher end, capex will more than double from last year.
Alphabet resets the bar for AI infrastructure spending
The search giant’s proposed capex spend for 2026 exceeds that of its hyperscalers peers.
South Korea’s Kospi leads declines in Asia, tracking Wall Street tech sell-off; Topix retreats from record
In Asia, investors are keeping an eye on tech and tech-related stocks in the region for any spillover.
Hedge funds made $24 billion shorting software stocks so far in 2026 — and they are increasing the bet
Hedge funds are increasing their short bets against software stocks, contributing to the brutal sell-off in the space so far this year, according to sources at two major funds on Wall Street.
Bitcoin bleeds for second straight day, nearly grazes $72,000
Bitcoin sank as low as $72,096.20 on Wednesday, marking its second consecutive day breaking below the $73,000 level.
Software stocks are selling off, but this big name may be worth another look, charts show
Software stocks have been suffering as fears of disruption from artificial intelligence rattle the industry, but one name is testing an uptrend line.
Oil prices jump after Trump says Iran supreme leader ‘should be very worried’
President Donald Trump has threatened to launch military strikes on Iran if the Islamic Republic doesn’t agree to a deal on its nuclear program.
Google parent beats on revenue, projects significant AI spending increase
Alphabet beat on the top and bottom lines in its fourth-quarter earnings report, and said it expects to significantly increase spending on AI in 2026.
