Taiwan Semiconductor shares retreated despite posting strong earnings growth, highlighting a disconnect between fundamental performance and market valuation. Investor nerves sharpened following reports that Anthropic’s annual revenue run rate remains stagnant, casting doubt on the immediate monetization potential of high-profile AI startups.

Financial stress is appearing in niche sectors as well. While CoreWeave shares climbed, derivatives markets simultaneously priced in a higher probability of default for the cloud-computing provider. This tension is bleeding into hardware supply chains, with Dell Technologies stock extending a recent slide to lose approximately 20% over four sessions. Meanwhile, Apple managed to buck the broader downward trend, maintaining flat performance as its market capitalization briefly eclipsed $5 trillion following a strategic collaboration with Meta Platforms to integrate open-weight AI models into Mac hardware.