NEW YOKK, New York - U.S. stocks fell sharply Wednesday with tech stocks, mainly those associated with AI, taking the brunt of the selling.

"A lingering sense of nervousness remains among AI investors, primarily centered on the concern that Chinese AI developers and their low-cost models threaten to usurp U.S. competitors with higher sunk investment costs," Mark Haefele, chief investment officer of UBS Global Wealth Management said in a note Wednesday. "While both the United States and China have made significant strides in the AI sector, CIO believes there are compelling reasons to favor U.S. AI companies over their Chinese counterparts, especially in the near term."

ited States Markets:

• S&P 500: The S&P 500 fell by 64.45 points, or 1.12 percent, closing at 5,712.20. ​

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 132.71 points, or 0.31 percent, ending at 42,454.79. ​

• NASDAQ Composite: The NASDAQ Composite dropped by 372.84 points, or 2.04 percent, to close at 17,899.02. ​

The technology sector was notably affected, with major companies such as Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta Platforms each declining more than 2 percent. Nvidia, Tesla, and Super Micro Computer experienced losses exceeding 5 percent. 

Trading on forex markets Wednesday see across-the-board gains for U.S. dollar

Major Currency Pairs:

• EUR/USD: The euro declined by 0.35 percent against the U.S. dollar, with the pair trading at 1.0752. This drop is attributed to increased selling by sovereign wealth funds and central banks. ​

• USD/JPY: The U.S. dollar strengthened by 0.44 percent against the Japanese yen, reaching 150.56.​

• USD/CAD: The U.S. dollar edged up 0.07 percent against the Canadian dollar, trading at 1.4284.​

• GBP/USD: The British pound weakened by 0.42 percent against the U.S. dollar, with the pair at 1.2888. This decline followed a slowdown in British inflation, prompting speculations of a potential interest rate cut by the Bank of England in May. 

• USD/CHF: The U.S. dollar rose 0.22 percent against the Swiss franc, trading at 0.8843.​

• AUD/USD: The Australian dollar decreased by 0.18 percent against the U.S. dollar, with the pair at 0.6291.​

• NZD/USD: The New Zealand dollar saw a slight decline of 0.11 percent against the U.S. dollar, trading at 0.5725.

Little movement on Global stock markets Wednesday

Stocks in Asia mostly rose Wednesday but volume on most indices was modest. European markets were mixed, but mostly lower. Mideast stocks fell, while in South Africa the key index made a minor gain.

Following are Wednesday's closing quotes for key stock exchanges around the world:

Canadian Markets:

• S&P/TSX Composite Index: Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index declined by 178.45 points, or 0.70 percent, closing at 25,161.06.

UK and European Markets:

• The FTSE 100 in the United Kingdom edged up by 25.79 points, or 0.30 percent, closing at 8,689.59. ​

• Germany's DAX index declined by 270.76 points, or 1.17 percent, ending at 22,839.03. ​

• France's CAC 40 fell by 77.91 points, or 0.96 percent, to 8,030.68. ​

• The EURO STOXX 50 index decreased by 63.39 points, or 1.16 percent, closing at 5,411.69.​

• The Euronext 100 Index dropped 11.74 points, or 0.73 percent, to 1,596.03.​

• Belgium's BEL 20 index declined by 48.05 points, or 1.07 percent, ending at 4,434.15.​

Asian and Pacific Markets:

• Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 139.07 points, or 0.60 percent, to 23,483.32. ​

• Singapore's STI Index gained 9.18 points, or 0.23 percent, closing at 3,963.71.​

• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 increased by 56.50 points, or 0.71 percent, to 7,999.00.​

• The ALL ORDINARIES index in Australia rose by 58.40 points, or 0.72 percent, ending at 8,225.10.​

• India's S&P BSE SENSEX decreased by 728.69 points, or 0.93 percent, closing at 77,288.50.​

• Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI edged up 4.45 points, or 0.29 percent, to 1,518.05.​

• New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Index Gross advanced by 149.67 points, or 1.23 percent, closing at 12,334.18.​

• South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index increased by 28.13 points, or 1.08 percent, to 2,643.94.​

• Taiwan's TWSE Capitalization Weighted Stock Index saw a slight decline of 12.90 points, or 0.06 percent, ending at 22,260.29.​

• Japan's Nikkei 225 rose by 246.75 points, or 0.65 percent, closing at 38,027.29. ​

Middle Eastern and African Markets:

• Israel's TA-125 index decreased by 32.06 points, or 1.28 percent, to 2,463.42.​

• Egypt's EGX 30 Price Return Index saw a minor decline of 17.70 points, or 0.06 percent, closing at 31,744.30.​

• South Africa's Top 40 USD Net TRI Index edged up by 4.00 points, or 0.08 percent, to 4,858.06.​

Currency Indices:

• The US Dollar Index strengthened by 0.44 points, or 0.42 percent, reaching 104.62. ​

• The British Pound Currency Index decreased by 0.60 points, or 0.46 percent, to 128.83.​

• The Euro Currency Index declined by 0.42 points, or 0.39 percent, ending at 107.50.​

• The Japanese Yen Currency Index fell by 0.30 points, or 0.44 percent, to 66.42.​

• The Australian Dollar Currency Index decreased by 0.17 points, or 0.27 percent, closing at 62.88.​

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