Asian shares mixed after Nvidia’s losses

The Hang Seng climbed 0.8% to 26,578.03, the Shanghai Composite index slid 0.3% to 4,139.53, Kospi shed 0.6% to 6,288.40, S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.1% at 9,184.10, while Sensex slid 0.4%

Shares were mixed Friday in Asia after the worst day for Nvidia’s stock. Nikkei 225 edged 0.1% higher to 58,810.03.

The Hang Seng climbed 0.8% to 26,578.03, while the Shanghai Composite index slid 0.3% to 4,139.53.

Kospi shed 0.6% to 6,288.40 as traders locked in profits from recent gains.

S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.1% at 9,184.10, while Sensex slid 0.4%.

The future for the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.4%.

Shares in Block, formerly known as Square, gained 5% on Thursday before it reported better than expected earnings, and then shot up more than 20% after the markets closed following Dorsey’s comments on laying off about 4,000 of its 10,000 employees.

We believe Block will be significantly more valuable as a smaller, faster, intelligence-native company. Everything we do from here is in service of that, Dorsey wrote in a letter to shareholders.

Just did what most CEOs have only whispered about in boardrooms, Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management wrote in a commentary.

For years we’ve debated whether AI would dent jobs at the margin. Now we have a public case study where the CEO explicitly says intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company, he said.

Despite Nvidia’s troubles, seven stocks gained in the S&P 500 for every three that dropped. Among them was Salesforce, which jumped 4% after it likewise reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Companies in industries as far flung as trucking logistics and financial services have seen their stocks come under attack by investors worried those businesses may lose out to AI or even become obsolete.