Good evening and welcome to Markets Desk.
SoftBank plunged eleven percent Thursday, leading a broad selloff across Asian technology stocks as investors grew increasingly uneasy about the soaring cost of artificial intelligence infrastructure. The move tracked weakness in U.S. tech and sent ripples through Taiwan's exchange, which may face renewed selling pressure when it opens Friday.
Speaking of pressure in tech, the DOT under the Trump administration is pushing new federal rules that would allow autonomous vehicles to operate without steering wheels or brake pedals. The proposal from NHTSA marks a significant regulatory shift, though safety advocates are pushing back hard, arguing the agency has yet to clarify how these vehicles would be monitored and held accountable on public roads.
And on the succession front at JPMorgan, Jamie Dimon has reshuffled the deck again. Marianne Lake, long considered the frontrunner to eventually lead the bank, has been informed she is no longer in contention for the chief executive role. New deputies have been named, leaving Wall Street to recalibrate its read on who ultimately follows Dimon at the most powerful bank in the country.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.