Alphabet Inc. lost $100 billion in market value due to an error in an advertisement for their chatbot Bard. This comes as the company tries to keep pace with OpenAI's ChatGPT, backed by Microsoft Corp. with a $10 billion injection into the startup. Microsoft recently integrated ChatGPT into its Bing search engine, causing their shares to rise while Alphabet's fell due to concern about Google losing market share. However, chatbot AI systems carry risks due to inherent biases, as seen in past instances of incorrect or biased content or even outright racism if trained improperly in a free ecosystem.

EQUITY

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.61%, or 207 points. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 also fell, by 1.83% and 1.1%, respectively. The Federal Reserve's hawkish remarks contributed to negative sentiment in the stock market, with tech leading the fall. However, CVS reported earnings 3.5% higher than forecast, pushing the stock higher.

GOLD

Gold prices rose slightly for four consecutive days due to hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve on monetary policy. All Federal Reserve officials who spoke this week indicated that interest rates would be raised further. However, demand for gold is unwavering in the face of volatile dollar reserves.

OIL

The energy sector was pressured by a slide in major oil companies, but higher oil prices and a stronger dollar helped limit losses. Oil prices have risen for three consecutive days, with Brent and WTI crude futures up 1.15% to $85.05 and $78.44, respectively. The reason for the rise in oil prices is due to crude loading disruptions in Turkey and optimism over China's recovering demand.

CURRENCY

The U.S. dollar remained unchanged on Thursday as investors await next week's inflation data. Federal Reserve officials commented that modest interest rate rises are on the way. The focus is on U.S. consumer price index inflation data for January, which is due next week.