Guardian Australia

Stock markets fall and oil jumps as Middle East conflict intensifies and AI boom falters – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as South Korea’s KOSPI index slumps by 8% UK companies opting to hire temporary workers over permanent staff, recruitment firms say SpaceX IPO: how can I buy shares, and what are the risks? Shares in European companies at the heart of the AI boom are falling sharply at the start of trading. Chip firms such as Besi – BE Semiconductor Industries – (-4.5%) and ASML (-3.2%) which makes chipmaking machines are among the big fallers on the pan-European Stoxx 600 index, which is down almost 0.9%. Continue reading...