Morning Bid: The fragile AI trade

Oct 13 (Reuters) A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Ankur Banerjee A steep rout in AI stocks on signs that China is swiftly closing ​the tech gap has cast a shadow over markets ‌and brought to the fore the fragility of the AI trade as investors remain concerned about the durability and profitability of the sector. South Korea s tech-heavy KOSPI bore the brunt of the investor angst, sinking over 7% to its ‌lowest ​since late July. That came after US ⁠chipmakers slid 2.7% on ⁠reports of rapid tech progress by Chinese rival ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) raising the prospect of Chinese firms closing the technology gap. Nobody s doubting AI demand. The worry is who gets paid for ​it and that has made investors far less forgiving in trading, which has propelled global stocks to record highs. Fears of concentration ⁠risks and concerns over how quickly ⁠the massive spending on AI infrastructure can provide returns ​have triggered selloffs in the stock markets t