STORY: Global shares fell on Wednesday (February 4).
Investors sold off as concerns grew about the negative shock from AI to key parts of the wider tech sector.
Global providers of data analytics, professional services and software were particularly hard hit.
Market watchers worried about Anthropic's launch of plug-ins for its Claude Cowork agent and how it could disrupt those industries.
One analyst said it poses a major challenge for firms to come up with solutions which may involve partnerships with Anthropic or OpenAI.
It comes a day after U.S. benchmark indices dropped 1%.
That was led by sharp falls in software stocks like Salesforce and Adobe.
European stocks pulled back from record highs, with the STOXX 600 down 0.2%.
European equities were further hit by a huge slide in shares of Novo Nordisk.
They fell just under a fifth after the maker of weight-loss drugmaker gave a gloomy outlook for the year.
Shares of some software and data related companies also slipped in Asia.
Although the overall selling pressure wasn't as strong in the region, given it's long-term dominance in hardware manufacturing.
Elsewhere, gold headed for its biggest two-day gain in more than 17 years.
Precious metals extended their recovery from a massive two-day selloff which saw silver down by as much as 30% in a day.
Spot gold climbed back to the $5,000 level and was up 3% - that ensured gains of roughly a tenth over the last two days.
