Nasdaq falls 5.5% in a single week as AI debt risks trigger a sell-off, while oil prices approach $110, heightening inflation concerns.

BlockBeats news, October 17 — A double blow from AI infrastructure financing risks and surging oil prices hit Wall Street, with the Nasdaq 100 Index falling 5.5% this week, marking its largest weekly decline since the tariff turmoil in April 2025; the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell for eight consecutive trading days, the longest losing streak since 2008, with a cumulative decline of about 16% over the period.

AI cloud service provider CoreWeave became the market focus, with yields on some of its bonds briefly exceeding 15%, triggering market concerns over AI infrastructure financing costs, returns on capital expenditure, and corporate debt repayment capacity. CoreWeave shares fell 12% on Friday, down more than 50% from their intra-year high.

Meanwhile, Brent crude rose to about $110 per barrel, and WTI crude rose 3.8% on Friday to $101.71. Rising oil prices rekindled inflation expectations, pushing the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield up to 5.097%, eroding the safe-haven appeal of government bonds during stock market declines.

Market concerns about the AI trade are shifting from computing power demand to financing costs and profitability returns. However, some investors still chose to buy on dips, with Cathie Wood's ARK Investment Management increasing its holdings in CoreWeave and Cerebras Systems. Next, earnings reports from tech giants will be key to testing whether AI revenue can support sustained high capital expenditure.