World Shares Lower, Bitcoin Plummets   02/05 04:46

   World shares retreated Thursday in Asia on heavy selling of technology 
stocks, while the price of bitcoin fell as much as 8%.

   (AP) -- World shares retreated Thursday in Asia on heavy selling of 
technology stocks, while the price of bitcoin fell as much as 8%.

   The latest round of jitters over high prices for tech shares sent South 
Korea's Kospi down nearly 4%. Oil prices sank more than $1 a barrel.

   Bitcoin was trading near $71,000 early Thursday, down 7.3% after crashing to 
about $69,000 earlier in the day, according to CoinDesk. That's its lowest 
level since November 2024.

   Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have dropped after U.S. Treasury Secretary 
Scott Bessent, said in answer to questions in the House Financial Services 
Committee on Wednesday that he did not have the authority to order banks to buy 
such assets.

   In share trading, Germany's DAX slipped 0.2% to 24,568.67 and the CAC 40 in 
Paris edged 0.2% higher to 8,278.99. Britain's FTSE 100 gave up 0.3% to 
10,371.83.

   The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.2% while that for the Dow Jones 
Industrial Average edged 0.1% lower.

   In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 shed 0.9% to 53,818.04, while the Kospi 
in South Korea skidded 3.9%, to 5,163.57.

   Shares in South Korea's biggest company, Samsung Electronics, lost 5.9%. 
Chip maker SK Hynix plunged 6.7%.

   Hong Kong's Hang Seng regained early losses, closing 0.1% higher at 
26,885.24. The Shanghai Composite index gave up 0.6% to 4,075.92.

   Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4% to 8,889.20, while Taiwan's Taiex lost 
1.5%.

   On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.5% for its fifth modest loss in the last 
six days. The Dow rose 0.5% and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.5%.

   More than twice as many stocks rose within the S&P 500 than fell, but 
sinking technology stocks weighed on the index for a second straight day.

   Advanced Micro Devices dropped 17.3% even though the chip company reported a 
stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also gave a 
forecast for revenue for the start of 2026 that topped analysts' expectations, 
but that may not have satisfied investors after its stock doubled over the last 
12 months.

   Tech stocks are under pressure even when they deliver stronger-than-expected 
profits after their prices shot higher as they've grown to dominate markets. 
Companies like software makers, meanwhile, are struggling with questions about 
whether they'll lose in the future to competitors powered by 
artificial-intelligence technology.

   Uber Technologies also dragged on the market after falling 5.1%. The 
ride-hailing company reported results for the latest quarter that fell short of 
analysts' expectations. It also gave a forecast for profit in the current 
quarter that was below analysts' expectations, while naming a new chief 
financial officer.

   Some tech stocks nevertheless climbed, including a 13.8% rise for Super 
Micro Computer. The company, which sells AI servers and other equipment, 
delivered a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

   Walmart edged up by 0.2%, a day after its total market value topped $1 
trillion for the first time. The retailer has broken into a small club 
dominated by Big Tech companies like Nvidia and Apple, which are each worth 
more than $4 trillion.

   In other dealings early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil fell $1.05 to 
$64.09 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost $1.11 to 
$68.35 per barrel.

   Prices of precious metals resumed their roller coaster ride, as gold bounced 
up 0.2% while silver dropped 4.6%.

   Their prices have surged and swooned recently as investors sought safer 
places to keep their money amid worries about everything from tariffs to a 
weaker U.S. dollar to heavy debt loads for governments worldwide. But critics 
have said their prices rose too far, too fast and were due for a pullback.

   The dollar rose to 157.03 Japanese yen from 156.88 yen. The euro fell to 
$1.1805 from $1.1809.