World shares were mixed on Thursday following another sell-off of artificial-intelligence stocks that dragged the U.S. market sharply lower. The S&P 500 dropped 1.6% for its first back-to-back drop in three weeks, closing at 7,266.99. The Dow tumbled 1.9% and the Nasdaq composite led the market lower with a 2% slide.

AI Stocks Under Pressure

Micron Technology swung from an early loss of nearly 4% to a modest gain and back to a loss of 4.7%. Nvidia, the chip company that’s grown into a nearly $4.9 trillion behemoth because of the AI boom, was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500 after falling 3.7%. The second heaviest was another AI winner, Broadcom, which fell 5.1%.

Some of the pressure on AI stocks could also be coming from investors pulling cash out to prepare for high-profile debuts on the U.S. stock market for several AI giants. SpaceX’s initial public offering could come later this week, for example.

Oil Prices Ease

Oil prices fell after rising earlier as the U.S. launched a second round of airstrikes against Iran. Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell $1.30 to $91.80 per barrel. U.S. benchmark crude oil was down $1.22 to $88.81 a barrel.

High oil prices have sent inflation higher, and a report on Wednesday showed that prices for U.S. consumers jumped in May at the highest speed in three years. Traders are betting the Federal Reserve will have to hike its main interest rate at least once this year, given price pressures and the strength of the U.S. job market.

Original reporting: WTVQ (Lexington) — read the source article.