Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slid just 0.04% to 8,517.20. South Korea's Kospi declined 0.23% to 2,530.79. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.35% to 31,173.35, while the Shanghai Composite was up 1.33% to 3,314.29.

A tariff tantrum. DeepSeek’s deep impact. The Philadelphia Eagles’ return to the Super Bowl. Investors have seen plenty to put them on edge so far in 2025.

Chinese investors are rushing into AI-related stocks, betting the artificial intelligence advance of home-grown startup DeepSeek will lead to a boom in the sector and give the initiative to China in an intensifying Sino-U.

The ramifications of Chinese startup DeepSeek, with its promise of delivering cheaper, more energy-efficient alternatives to harness artificial intelligence, have yet to be fully reflected in U.S. equities. That’s the thinking of Don Townswick, director of equity strategies at Conning Asset Management, which oversees $170 billion in assets.

The efficiency gains of DeepSeek’s AI models startled the power industry, which is set to invest billions in electricity projects.

The next DeepSeek to disrupt the global artificial intelligence industry could also come from China. The country of 1.4 billion has seeded several promising AI startups and projects, while its leading internet players have spent years investing and developing the infrastructure to support such new ventures.