Global stock markets are seeing sharp declines and bitcoin has lost this year’s gains as worries intensify that the AI (artificial intelligence) boom has become a bubble fit to burst.

A small tear has certainly appeared in US tech stocks over the past week, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq closing below a key technical indicator for the first time since late April on Monday.

Key worries include not only high valuations but also vast investment spending in the AI space harming and delaying investor returns.

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Sharp stock market falls were seen across large parts of Asia and Europe following the retreat on Wall Street.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed more than 3% while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 1.7%.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 was down by just over 1% while Germany’s DAX and the CAC in Paris were 1.2% and 1.3% lower in early afternoon dealing.

Nerves are jangling over tech as the market awaits financial results from Nvidia on Wednesday night.

They are likely to be crucial in determining the path for shares ahead.

The world’s largest company by market value is the beating heart of Wall Street’s artificial intelligence boom and any sign of slowdowns, for both revenues and profits, will be catalysts for further sell-offs.

Fears have been growing for months that record values are overdone.

Stocks linked to AI suffered particularly on Monday, building on declines seen last week, and futures indicated more pain to come when trading begins in the US, though drops were expected to be limited.

Financial analysts said baskets of top AI-linked stocks had now entered so-called correction territory, falling more than 10% in short order this month.

Others pointed to an impact on confidence in the crypto market.

Bitcoin, which hit a $125,000 spot rate level only last month, stood at $91,000 on Tuesday.

It had begun the year around the $94,000 level.

Victoria Scholar, head of investment for Interactive Investor, said: “This year was meant to be the year of the bitcoin bulls supported by a highly crypto-friendly administration in the White House and Trump’s ‘less is more’ approach towards regulation.

“However, fears of an AI bubble and concerns about the market’s heavy dependence on a handful of tech giants have caused investors to dial back their exposure to speculative assets such as bitcoin.

“There’s a general sense of nervousness that has captured the market mood lately and bitcoin appears to be in the firing line.”

Wider sentiment has also been harmed by weaker bets on the prospects for a further interest rate cut by the US central bank next month.

Many financial analysts described the stock market shifts as a healthy correction, given all the uncertainties which include the possibility of a US court ruling against Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs regime ahead.

Mike Gallagher, director of research at Continuum Economics, told Sky’s US partner CNBC that the market action implies equities could fall about 5% from recent highs – or “a bit more”.

“There’s some things coming over the horizon that make you want to take a bit of risk off the table,” he told the channel’s Squawk Box Europe show.

“So, part of it is just natural pocket taking, part of it is thinking, ‘well, is the macro story going to be perfect? No, it’s not.”

He concluded: “To get a major sell-off, you may need major bad news, and that we haven’t actually got to that point yet.”

In the hour after Wall Street opened, the tech company-heavy Nasdaq Composite had dropped nearly 1.8%.

The S&P 500 US index of companies relied on to be stable and profitable, lost more than 1% and the index of 30 major companies listed on US stock exchanges, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), dropped 1.3%.

A crackdown on online pricing has seen investigations opened into eight companies, with a further 100 facing warnings over their conduct.

The competition watchdog said it was formally examining practices at StubHub, viagogo, AA Driving School, BSM Driving School, Gold’s Gym, Wayfair, Appliances Direct and Marks Electrical.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the 100 other companies, which it did not identify, were getting letters outlining concerns about additional fees and sales tactics.

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The action against StubHub and viagogo – part of the same company after a 2021 merger – was revealed as the government reportedly prepares to separately confirm a ban on the resale of tickets for live events above their face value.

It is part of a long-threatened crackdown on touts to shield consumers from rip-off prices.

The regulator’s separate action falls under the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act which gives it additional powers to protect consumers.

The CMA said StubHub and viagogo were under review “regarding the mandatory additional charges applied when consumers buy tickets – and whether or not these fees are included upfront”.

The AA Driving School and BSM Driving School were being investigated over their “presentation of mandatory fees on these sites”, the CMA said, “specifically, whether these fees are included in the total price the consumer sees at the beginning of the purchase process.”

Gold’s Gym is under investigation over its presentation of a one-off joining fee for its annual membership, and whether the way it presents this fee breaks the law.

It explained that the examination of homeware retailers Wayfair, Appliances Direct, and Marks Electrical was related to whether their time-limited sales “ended when they said they would, or whether customers are being automatically opted in to purchasing additional services”.

Commenting on the CMA’s action an AA Driving School spokesperson said: “We are comfortable that the £3 booking fee for lessons is already transparent and in line with the CMA’s rules and are more than happy to additionally notify customers earlier in the journey as well, which we have already done.”

The other companies were yet to comment.

The CMA’s first major act under the new digital market rules was to give itself special oversight over Apple and Google.

The CMA’s so-called “strategic market status” rulings mean both companies will face specific obligations to limit their dominance in smartphone and tablet operating systems (iOS and Android respectively), app distribution and browsers.

Commenting on its latest inquiry, CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said: “At a time when household budgets are under constant pressure and we’re all hunting for the best deal possible, it’s crucial that people are able to shop online with confidence, knowing that the price they see is the price they’ll pay, and any sales are genuine.

“Whether you’re spending your hard-earned cash on concert tickets or driving lessons, joining a gym or buying furniture and appliances for your home, you deserve a fair deal.

“It’s our job to protect consumers from misleading prices and illegal pressure selling and today marks an important milestone as we take action across the economy to make sure businesses do the right thing by their customers.”

“Since the launch of the new regime, we’ve been working hard to help businesses understand the law. But alongside supporting businesses to comply, we’ve always been clear that we will take swift action where we suspect potentially serious breaches of the law.

“This is just the start of our work. Any businesses who break consumer law should be in no doubt we will stamp out illegal conduct and protect the interests of consumers and fair-dealing businesses.”

Rubbish will continue rotting in the streets of Birmingham for months, union chiefs have warned, after more workers voted to join industrial action.

Agency workers employed by Job&Talent are now joining the dispute for the first time, with the Unite union blaming “an epidemic of bullying, harassment and intimidation”.

And with workers voting to extend the already months-long strike, the union says bins could go uncollected beyond next year’s local elections in May.

It comes after footage obtained by Sky News captured a manager from Job&Talent warning agency staff that those who join the strike would be blacklisted by the council.

In the clip, he says: “Those people that do decide to join the picket line, then the council have confirmed to us that they are not going to get a permanent job.”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham added: “This is a real escalation in the dispute with agency workers now joining picket lines due to the terrible way they have been treated by Job&Talent and Birmingham council.

“The council is spending a fortune it doesn’t have on a dispute that could easily be resolved by agreeing a fair deal for workers.

“Unite does what it says on the trade union tin; we are totally committed to fighting for the jobs, pay and conditions of all members.

“Agency and directly-employed workers alike in Birmingham council’s refuse service have the union’s complete and utter support.”

A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said: “While we are disappointed the dispute has not been resolved as Unite has rejected all our offers, we are continuing to make regular waste collections and our contingency plan is working.

“We have been collecting an average of approximately 1,330 tonnes of kerbside waste every day, more than we did prior to industrial action, and over the last six months we have collected over 100,000 tonnes of kerbside waste.

“There has been a 22 per cent increase in tonnage of waste collected per employee and a 52 per cent improvement regarding missed collections.

“A small number of agency staff are in a separate dispute with Job&Talent. The city council has contingency plans and will continue to look to maintain residents with a minimum of one collection a week.

“Meanwhile we continue to move forward with the service improvements that are long overdue and that our residents need.”

The council also said it would not tolerate blacklisting, and had investigated the matter, but concluded no blacklisting had taken place.

In a statement last week, Job&Talent responded to the leaked footage.

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The statement read: “Job&Talent is aware of a short video clip circulating online which shows a Job&Talent manager speaking to agency workers at one of the city’s refuse depots.

“The comments made in the recording were part of a longer discussion and do not reflect the position of Job&Talent.

“We do not engage in or condone any form of blacklisting, and no worker is or would be denied employment opportunities on the basis of lawful participation in industrial action.”

Unite said Job&Talent workers would be able to join the picket line from 1 December.

Bin workers have been locked in a standoff with the council over proposed pay cuts for most of the year.

Union bosses say council plans will leave 171 workers £8,000 worse off a year.

Collections have been disrupted since January, but the row descended into an all-out strike in March.

The council soon declared a major incident and rubbish has continued to pile up across the city as the dispute continues.

Unite claims there have been no formal negotiations over ending the dispute since May.

The union’s lead officer, Onay Kasab, said: “Residents of Birmingham will be rightly concerned to see that the misery of bin strikes can continue through Christmas, New Year and beyond May’s local elections but the council is solely responsible for the ongoing dispute.

“Unite remains fully committed to return to meaningful negotiations to secure a fair deal for affected workers while also ensuring the endemic bullying culture and threats of blacklisting are stamped out.”

In a statement, Job&Talent said: “We acknowledge the ballot outcome and will continue working closely with our workers to address any concerns.

“The result reflects only a small portion of our overall workforce.

“As addressed previously, Job&Talent remains firmly committed to operating with transparency, integrity, and full compliance with employment laws.”