U.S Stock Market today: Will DeepSeek disrupt Wall Street stocks again? Fears rise as Chinese AI startup makes highly awaited launch

DeepSeek, the Chinese artificial intelligence startup whose low-cost model stunned the world last year, launched a preview of its highly awaited new model adapted for Huawei chip technology. But the U.S. stocks battered by the model last year appeared to be holding up relatively well. ChatGPT-backer Microsoft was up 1.2 per cent, and chip designer Marvell Technology rose 3.7 per cent.

Intel stocks jumped 27.6 per cent premarket after forecasting second-quarter revenue above ​estimates. Rival AMD ​rose 11.9 per cent. Comfort Systems gained 6.5 per cent after ⁠the construction firm's first-quarter revenue topped estimates. Online education platform Coursera slipped 12.4 per cent after its first-quarter results.

DeepSeek Fears in Wall Street





DeepSeek has often been hit with accusations by Washington and U.S. rivals that its success owes much to the improper use of U.S. know-how, and Friday's launch comes one day after the White House accused China of stealing U.S. AI labs' intellectual property on an industrial ​scale.

It was not clear, however, if the issue is large enough to strain relations ahead of a visit ⁠by U.S. President ‌Donald Trump to Beijing next month to meet with China's leader, Xi Jinping.

For its part, DeepSeek has acknowledged the use of Nvidia ​chips but has not commented ​on whether those particular chips were subject to export bans. It has also said it has not intentionally used synthetic data ⁠generated by OpenAI.

Washington began to restrict China's access to advanced AI chips made by U.S. firms in ​2022 and since then Beijing has accelerated its push to achieve tech self-sufficiency.

Huawei said it had worked closely ​with DeepSeek so the new V4 models could run across its full line of high-performance Ascend systems.

Oil Prices Hit Stocks




However, International Oil prices remain ​the biggest source of uncertainty, as Brent crude futures are still around 44 per cent above pre-war levels because of disruption in the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping route.

Oil prices, trading above $107, faced renewed upward pressure after Iran released footage of commandos boarding a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz and reports that Tehran's air defences had engaged "hostile targets".

Oil has jumped more than 18 per cent this week, set for its biggest weekly rise since the first ‌week of war ⁠in March - ⁠a sign that hopes for a swift end to the conflict are fading.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite have hit record highs in recent days on the belief that the economic fundamentals remain solid despite the war.

"Strong market entry points are rarely found during moments of comfort or clarity. ‌Instead, the most attractive buying opportunities are typically associated with periods of market stress," said Jeff Schulze, head of economic and market strategy at ClearBridge Investments.

Investors are also awaiting the Federal Reserve policy meeting next week, for commentary from policymakers on the effects of elevated energy prices on the world's largest economy and how it is shaping the central bank's outlook.

Traders see a 99.5 per cent chance that interest rates will remain unchanged, according to data compiled by LSEG.