Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com.

MORNING BID: NO LONGER THE APPLE OF THEIR EYE

The tech selloff has returned with a vengeance.

The latest slump was sparked by Cisco, whose margins were squeezed by the soaring costs of memory chips, spooking investors priced for booming profits.

Fears are also mounting that AI's disruption to jobs is just getting started. Logistics and trucking companies were sold hard overnight, not so long after software stocks dived as Anthropic’s release of Claude Cowork fuelled job worries.

Not even Apple AAPL.O was spared. The iPhone maker lost 5% and shed a stunning $200 billion in market value, its worst day since President Donald Trump's sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs unsettled markets last April.

To be fair, with stocks still hovering near record levels, this dip could just be another buying opportunity for the retail investors. Then again, maybe the machines really are coming for us. Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman told the FT he expects most white-collar tasks to be fully automated in the next 12-18 months.

In Asia, most markets were in the red, with MSCI's regional index off 0.8%, though it is still boasting a more-than-decent gain of 3.9% for the week. Japan's Nikkei .N225 skidded 0.9%, but was still up 5.3% for the week.

Amid the risk-off pummelling, defensive stocks found buyers and Treasuries benefited from safe-haven bids. Gold and silver attempted a recovery after heavy losses while oil was headed for a second straight week of losses.

Where equities are headed next now depends on U.S. inflation data due later in the day. Forecasts are centred on a monthly rise of 0.3% in the core measure for January, which is enough to see the annual rate slow to 2.5% from 2.7% previously.

A number like that or even better could be what is needed for Wall Street to recover and test all-time highs, but a hot report may see traders give up bets for a rate cut in June, sending yields soaring again.

Key developments that could influence markets on Friday:

-- U.S. CPI data for January

-- Euro Zone GDP flash estimate for Q4

(Alun John)

*****