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AI’s spending scare is haunting markets this Halloween. Strong cloud growth is failing to reassure investors as Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta pour enormous sums into infrastructure. Falling free cash flow, growing financing needs and credit stress are raising questions about when those investments will pay off. Amazon also faces a potential challenge from AI shopping agents. Meanwhile, central banks are keeping further rate hikes on the table as elevated energy prices complicate the inflation outlook. From Big Tech earnings to monetary policy and stronger US growth, financial conditions are tightening, and markets are beginning to feel the pressure again....

Big spending, mixed rewards: Microsoft and Google delivered strong cloud growth, but investors reacted very differently to their cash flow numbers. Why?

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged but kept another hike firmly on the table as energy inflation threatens to spread. Markets found some breathing space, yet borrowing costs remain a challenge.

In Europe, attention turns to the ECB and Christine Lagarde’s response to mounting French sovereign bond stress. Will tighter financial conditions reduce the need for further rate hikes? And could reassurance about fragmentation support equities and the euro?

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Ipek Ozkardeskaya has...

AI appetite is back, but the bills keep growing. Anthropic’s IPO filing, strong demand for Meta’s share sale and SK Hynix’s operating profit beat have revived enthusiasm ahead of the Fed decision and Microsoft and Google earnings. With inflation coming in firmer than expected, investors will scrutinise the Fed’s message for clues about another rate hike. Meanwhile, Big Tech must show that strong cloud growth can justify soaring AI investment. We discuss interest rates, elevated oil prices, the yield curve and why attractive bond yields raise the bar for investors still willing to pay up for the ambitious AI dream....

Tech stocks rebound as Anthropic’s IPO filing revives appetite for AI enablers. But investors are still questioning the scale of AI infrastructure spending, rising financing needs, circular deals and whether future revenues will justify the investment. Meta’s fundraising plans and chip suppliers’ interest in buying its shares bring those concerns into focus. Meanwhile, a major website security scare highlights both the opportunities and risks AI presents for cybersecurity. With Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon due to report earnings, can strong cloud growth reassure investors — or will concerns about spending continue to overshadow the results? We also look at France and...

A packed week of central bank decisions, economic data and earnings puts investor confidence to the test. The Fed, ECB and Bank of Japan take centre stage alongside US and eurozone growth figures. Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and SK Hynix face scrutiny as investors demand clearer returns on AI spending. Meanwhile, war, high energy prices and European debt concerns complicate the outlook for equities, bonds and currencies. Can strong earnings restore confidence, or will bigger spending commitments deepen doubts?

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Ipek Ozkardeskaya has begun her financial career in 2010 in the structured products desk of the Swiss...

Strong tech earnings aren’t enough to keep investors on board. AI stocks tumble as concerns about spending, debt and energy constraints overshadow impressive growth. In today’s Swissquote Daily Market Talk, we discuss the technology selloff, demand for US Treasuries, gold’s disappointing reaction and widening French sovereign spreads. We also look at P&G’s defensive appeal and why energy could become the next major AI investment theme. With Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Sandisk reporting next week, can earnings restore confidence, or will investors keep jumping ship?

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Ipek Ozkardeskaya has begun her financial career in 2010 in the...

Strong tech earnings are struggling to fuel lasting market enthusiasm. Elevated oil prices, geopolitical tensions and widening European sovereign yield spreads add to the uncertainty. Carrefour’s profit warning shows that even defensive businesses face risks. As markets digest the news ahead of next week’s earnings, we examine technology’s rebound potential, selective defensive opportunities, Treasury yields and gold’s longer-term appeal.

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Ipek Ozkardeskaya has begun her financial career in 2010 in the structured products desk of the Swiss Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. She worked at HSBC Private Bank in Geneva in relation to high and ultra-high net worth...

Renewed hopes of a US–Iran breakthrough briefly eased energy concerns before fading, leaving investors facing higher oil prices, persistent inflation risks and mounting European debt stress.
Meanwhile, SpaceX’s strong quarterly results revived enthusiasm for AI, with booming computing revenue highlighting its growing ambitions beyond space. But shooting for the moon comes at a cost: enormous infrastructure investment, rising financing needs and growing credit concerns across smaller competitors.
Meta’s results offer the next test for the broader AI trade. Can advertising growth and new products justify soaring spending? Bigger budgets could support chipmakers while pressuring cash flow. Softer plans could reassure...

European debt concerns, rising energy prices and fragile AI confidence test investors’ nerves. French unrest adds to fiscal and political uncertainty, while attractive Japanese bond yields raise questions about capital returning home and the consequences for global borrowing costs. US technology stocks have bounced, but weak Asian trading, Elice’s disappointing debut and resistance to Nscale’s valuation ambitions suggest investors are becoming more selective. Anthropic’s strong revenue growth offers encouragement, yet the AI spending boom still needs fresh money from paying customers to sustain it. Meanwhile, escalating Middle East tensions keep oil elevated, with Russian diesel supplies offering only limited potential...

Market sentiment remains fragile as hotter US inflation, mixed bank earnings and growing concerns over AI financing test investors’ appetite. CoreWeave’s sharp stock and bond selloff has exposed an uncomfortable question: how long can the AI infrastructure boom rely on external financing before investors demand stronger returns?
Money has moved towards US Treasuries and less technology-heavy stocks, but a slowdown in AI investment could reach far beyond chipmakers and cloud providers, affecting earnings, hiring and economic growth.
This week, tech earnings led by Meta will put those nerves to another test. Strong spending plans could r

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