Global software stocks hit by Anthropic wake-up call on AI disruption
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MILAN, Feb 4 : European and U.S. software stocks struggled to find support on Wednesday as a sector-wide selloff spread to Asia, fuelled by mounting worries that advances in artificial intelligence could upend companies' business models.
European data analytics, professional services and software stocks fell for a second day in volatile trade, mirroring losses in global peers, after Anthropic's new legal artificial intelligence model underscored the threat to businesses seen as most exposed to AI disruption.
Britain's RELX and the Netherlands' Wolters Kluwer - major providers of analytics to the legal industry - dropped about 3 per cent in morning trade before paring some losses, after plunging more than 14 per cent and 12 per cent respectively on Tuesday.
Shares of U.S. software and services firms were mixed in premarket trading after a near 13 per cent slide over five straight sessions. Nasdaq-listed Thomson Reuters, the parent company of Reuters News, was flat in light volume after Tuesday's record 16 per cent slump on fears that AI could threaten its core legal division.
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London Stock Exchange Group slid as much as 6.9 per cent, extending Tuesday's near 13 per cent drop.
Indian IT exporters also fell sharply, while Japanese software and systems developers NEC, Nomura Research and Fujitsu sank between 8 per cent and 11 per cent, dragging the Nikkei benchmark index lower overnight.
The rout comes amid wider concern that a tech bubble could burst, posing financial stability risks.
JP Morgan analyst Toby Ogg said investors were focused on long-term growth questions that stretch far beyond traditional three-year forecasts.
"The sector isn't just guilty until proven innocent, but is now being sentenced before trial," he said.
"Our sense from investor discussions is that general appetite to step in remains generally low," he added, citing risks including competition from AI-native firms and clients building their own solutions in-house.
ANTHROPIC THE SPARK BEHIND THE SELLOFF
One trigger for Tuesday's selloff was Anthropic's launch of plug-ins for its Claude Cowork agent on Friday, enabling automated tasks across legal, sales, marketing and data analysis.
Advertising stocks - viewed as among the most exposed in European media to AI - also stayed under pressure. France’s Publicis was last down 3.6 per cent and Britain's WPP lost 3 per cent, both hitting new lows.
Shares in SAP, Europe's largest software company, dropped more than 3 per cent, a week after a disappointing cloud revenue forecast wiped around $40 billion off its market value.
With stellar gains in chipmaker Nvidia and so-called AI hyperscalers like Microsoft pushing U.S. stocks to record highs, regulators and policymakers - including the International Monetary Fund and the Bank of England - have warned of the risks of a potential bubble.
"All innovation means there is going to be disruption at some point, and we appear to be at a significant point in that journey for software and IT services companies," said Ben Barringer, head of technology research at Quilter Cheviot.
"There is a lot of uncertainty around exactly what AI agents can do, and as such, investors are choosing to shun the software market altogether, leaving nowhere to hide."
Salesforce, CrowdStrike, Adobe each dipped about 0.2 per cent in U.S. premarket trading, while Intuit eased 0.6 per cent. Atlassian Corp firmed 0.6 per cent.
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