US Stocks Fall Across Three Major Indexes; Google Drops 3.8% on AI Talent Exodus; Oil and Gasoline Prices Surge

They argue that these two fee levels maintaining their current range will be the core driver of AI industry growth. Because this directly affects the profitability of AI-related companies, market attention is concentrated here.

The Dow fell 0.34%, the Nasdaq 0.6%, and the S&P 500 0.32%. After reaching record highs, the market declined from the early session and entered a correction.

This is tied to reports that a key DeepMind scientist, widely regarded as a legendary figure, had left the company. Rumors also circulated that DeepMind's CEO attempted to leave as well, but was persuaded to stay by Google over concerns about a stock decline, and now remains in a chairman role. News of continued departures of core AI talent from Google has raised doubts about the AI growth narrative and weighed on data center-related stocks at other big tech firms such as Amazon and Microsoft.

Apple is expected to raise prices significantly for its next iPhone (iPhone 18). Price increases were already mentioned for the iPhone 17 lineup. There are also forecasts that memory will account for more than 40% of the parts cost in Apple's next-generation products, underscoring how central memory has become to total component costs.

Samsung's Galaxy series is selling well, and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 in particular is drawing a strong response. The Fold 8 was released with a screen size optimized for YouTube viewing, which has made it popular with consumers, and rumors say it is selling briskly.

For companies with more than 5 million shareholders, the argument goes, shareholders naturally gravitate toward the company's products. Shareholders are no longer just investors but form a fan base, meaning they are an important customer group that buys products. The explanation is that companies must treat shareholders well, and shareholders continue buying products out of loyalty to the company.

News emerged that an agreement may be near in Pakistan. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said signals over the past three days suggest conditions are forming in favor of a peace accord or agreement, and that it is approaching. He noted in particular that talks between Oman and Iran have reached an advanced stage, and that Pakistan has received positive responses from both countries.

Brent crude has climbed back to nearly $90 a barrel. Gasoline in particular jumped to $3.14 per gallon in a short time, which is expected to add to inflation pressure. This rise in oil prices could spread into broader price increases and weigh on the overall economy.

In the foreign exchange market, the Korean won and Japanese yen are moving in opposite directions. The yen continues to weaken and is showing an alarming trend. The won, after weakening the previous day, has turned stronger again. This is interpreted as the result of global economic conditions and each country's monetary policy acting together.

Even though a rate increase was signaled, the yen has not strengthened and the exchange rate has not fallen. Markets appear to already know the Bank of Japan's hand, and a strong view has taken hold that one rate hike alone cannot bring rates to a high level. This has led to assessments that Japan's attempt to raise rates could effectively fail.

As yen weakness deepens, concern is growing that Japanese society will see an increasingly K-shaped economic divide. Japan was once characterized by a homogeneous society where everyone weakened together when the currency was weak, but analysts say wealth polarization is now deepening and could undermine social stability. This exposes structural problems in Japan's economy and could have ripple effects across society.

Such continued depreciation of the yen adds to uncertainty about Japan's economy and could affect the Korean economy to some degree.

Against the dollar, the yen has slipped back down after a large but not violent rebound attempt. In particular, the roughly 940 won ±10 won trading range that held for more than a year has broken for the first time. Charts suggest it may stop near the low, but Japan's rate is only being raised very slowly toward 1%, while Korea has tried to raise rates several times. Circumstantially, analysts say the yen's decline is likely to continue.

This strengthens AMD's position in the AI market and is expected to be an important foothold for Anthropic's AI infrastructure expansion.

AI company Anthropic is projected to significantly exceed its 2026 target. If the current trend holds, Anthropic's revenue is expected to reach $60 billion. This reflects the rapid growth of the AI market and shows Anthropic's influence in the market could expand further.

AI company Anthropic is pursuing a massive data center investment. It is pushing forward with a total of 10 GW of data center contracts, which is estimated at about $526 billion (roughly 730–740 trillion won) over roughly 20 years. That is close to South Korea's annual budget, showing how important infrastructure investment is for supporting the rapid growth of the AI industry.

In the data center industry, speed has emerged as the most important goal. The key is building and running data centers at any cost, and analysts say that given the service rates data centers charge AI companies, chip purchase costs could be recovered within a year. In other words, there is a widespread view across the industry that simply building data centers quickly can generate high returns. This is directly tied to surging data processing demand from the AI industry's rapid growth and shows the urgency of expanding infrastructure.

Analysts argue that only if these selling rates hold steady can the growth narrative for the AI industry as a whole continue stably. Because this directly affects the profitability of AI-related companies, it is a key concern for market participants.

Analysts say that without sufficient access to 7nm-class GPUs, CPUs, and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), they will struggle to catch up with Western AI technology. This is acting as a major constraint on the pace of China's AI industry development.

The AI market is expected to see overall flows, including chip sales, continue stably until Anthropic's listing. Contracts running at least six months to a year are underway, so agreements with chipmakers are expected to remain sound through 2027. However, the market still lacks confidence in the AI growth narrative beyond 2028, and uncertainty persists. A clear forecast of AI technology development and market change over the long term is needed.