Markets remained on edge through the week, with Big Tech spending fears, central-bank signals, and a sharp crypto rebound colliding in a volatile session.
Amazon shares slid on alarm over massive AI capital spending, while India’s central bank stood pat on rates, striking a steady tone on growth.
Wall Street also digested Goldman Sachs’ push into AI automation, even as Bitcoin and major tokens staged a dramatic bounce after a bruising selloff.
Amazon stock slips sharply on massive AI capex plans
Amazon stock slid sharply on Friday after the company’s eye-popping AI capex plans reignited Wall Street’s fear that Big Tech is spending first and figuring out returns later.
The stock fell about 6% trade, with investors rattled by Amazon’s expectation that capital spending could hit roughly $200 billion in 2026 as it builds out data centres and AI infrastructure for AWS.
The selloff comes as the industry’s AI bill is pegged at more than $600 billion this year, raising questions over near-term payback and potential margin pressure if software demand shifts.
India’s RBI keeps interest rates unchanged
The Reserve Bank of India kept its key repo rate unchanged at 5.25% on Friday, a widely expected move as growth stays sturdy and inflation remains benign.
The six-member monetary policy committee voted unanimously and retained a “neutral” stance, signalling no hurry to move rates either way.
Governor Sanjay Malhotra pointed to a steadier external backdrop after a U.S.-India trade deal eased tariff pressure, offering some relief to exporters and markets.
The RBI also flagged solid momentum ahead, projecting growth of 6.9% for April-June 2026 and 7% for the following quarter.
Goldman Sachs’ major AI pivot
Goldman Sachs is building AI “agents” with Anthropic to automate some of the bank’s most process-heavy work, moving beyond chatbots and coding helpers.
The project, led by CIO Marco Argenti, has run for six months with Anthropic engineers embedded alongside Goldman teams.
Early agents target trade and transaction accounting, reconciling records and resolving breaks faster, and client vetting and onboarding, where document review and rule-checking can bog down deals.
Argenti says the tools should launch soon and sharply cut turnaround times.
Goldman says it’s too early to talk layoffs, but the technology could reduce reliance on outside vendors across the firm’s operations.
Bitcoin, XRP rebound
Bitcoin clawed back above $70,000 on Friday, jumping more than 11% after briefly cracking below $60,000 a day earlier.
XRP stole the spotlight, surging about 22% to roughly $1.50 after dipping under $1.14, as traders rushed to rebuild risk positions.
Ethereum rebounded above $2,000 from around $1,750, while Solana bounced to $86 from $65.
Crypto-linked stocks joined the snapback: Strategy rallied over 21%, Coinbase rose 10%, and Galaxy jumped 17%.
Even so, analysts cautioned it may prove a short-lived relief rally.
The broader market mood improved too, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up around 1.5% by midday in the US.
