2026-07-18
3 分钟This is The World in Brief from The Economist.
Our top stories.
Global stocks sank as investors sold off semiconductor shares,
signalling scepticism about the sustainability of the AI boom.
Wall Street was downbeat on Friday.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500 were down by 1.4% and 1%, respectively.
Earlier, European and Asian stocks fell.
South Korea's Kospi declined by more than 6% and Japan's Nikkei, 225, shed around 4%.
The slump in chip stocks allowed Apple to briefly overtake Nvidia as the world's largest company.
Apple last held the crown in May 2025. It ended the day valued at $4.9 trillion.
Nvidia's value dropped to $4.86 trillion before recovering to around $4.92 trillion.
Apple shares are up 23% this year.
America said it destroyed a port surveillance tower in Iran,
claiming it was being used to, quote, track and target commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
America's armed forces also dismissed an Iranian claim that some American troops have been killed
or captured in the region.
Meanwhile, Iran hit a Kuwaiti power and desalination plant in retaliation for earlier American strikes.
Andy Burnham was confirmed as leader of Britain's Labour Party.
He will become prime minister on Monday.
In a speech, he said Britain took a wrong turn in the 1980s when,