Asian trading is mixed as worries about AI-related issues grow

Asian shares were trading mixed Friday, as worries about the future of artificial intelligence grew after Alphabet's stock drop dragged on U.S. markets.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 2.3% in afternoon trading to 63,155.94. At the end of its two-day monetary policy board meeting, the Bank of Japan decided to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1.25%. That was widely expected because the central bank raised the rate last month.

The U.S. has been pressuring Japan to raise rates because of concerns about the weakening yen. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar inched up to 157.67 Japanese yen from 157.65 yen. The euro cost $1.1186, up from $1.1181.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2% to 8,908.10. South Korea's Kospi declined nearly 4% to 5,701.71, as shares in SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics both slipped.

Shares related to the great market interest in AI have tended to be volatile, because some issues, including chip makers, get pushed up because of that interest, but then may decline because of worries about supplies, for instance.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.7% to 23,359.06, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.4% to 3,636.60.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.3% for its first loss in four days, even though the wide majority of stocks rose within the index and across Wall Street. The Nasdaq composite tumbled 1.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 132 points, or 0.3%.

Alphabet is one of the most influential stocks on Wall Street because it’s one of the largest, and the Class A shares of its stock fell 12.6% for their worst day since they began trading more than 20 years ago.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 23.59 points to 7,720.39 Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 132.54 to 52,342.56, and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 365.13 to 26,184.72.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.94% from 5.05% late Wednesday. It’s been generally pulling back since it topped 5.30% earlier this month and touched its highest level since 2002.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude gained 1.15% to $103.17 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, edged up 1.05% to $116.09 a barrel.

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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.

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Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama