After a nine-session hot streak, Canada’s main stock index fell on Monday, falling into the red along with markets around the world. While the telecom market provided some gains for the TSX, the tech sector saw the biggest drop as traders shared a collective concern around a discount Chinese AI platform on the market that seems to do more with less.
American markets were divided over fears of an artificial intelligence stock bubble bursting, especially so for the NASDAQ. This concern arose following the emergence of the Chinese startup DeepSeek, which has potentially developed a competitive AI model at a fraction of the usual cost.
Last week, DeepSeek unveiled an open-source AI model that reportedly outperformed OpenAI’s in several tests. The company had previously launched an open-source large-language model in December, claiming it cost less than US$6 million to develop. Although Wall Street is skeptical of this figure, the foreign startup’s advancements are raising concerns that the billions currently being invested in large AI models could be significantly reduced.
AI-related stocks like Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) lost more than 16 per cent.
The Canadian dollar traded for 69.57 cents US compared to 69.70 cents US on Friday.
US crude futures traded US$1.61 lower at US$73.05 a barrel, and the Brent contract lost US$1.58 to US$76.92 a barrel.
The price of gold was down US$30.23 to US$2,742.62.
In world markets, the Nikkei was down 366.18 points to ¥39,565.80, the Hang Seng was up 131.58 points to HK$20,197.77, the FTSE was up 1.36 points to ₤8,503.71, and the DAX was down 112.75 points to €21,282.18.
The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. For full disclaimer information, please click here.
(Top image generated with AI.)