IREN Ltd, a prominent player in the AI infrastructure space, saw its stock plummet 5.13% in pre-market trading on Friday, continuing the downward trend from the previous day's after-hours session. This latest decline comes as part of a broader selloff in AI-related stocks, despite initial optimism following Nvidia's strong earnings report.
The pre-market plunge follows a turbulent Thursday for IREN and other AI stocks. Initially, IREN's shares had surged by 10% at market open, buoyed by Nvidia's record-breaking data-center revenue results. However, the enthusiasm was short-lived as the stock reversed course, ending the regular trading session down 5.04% and then falling an additional 6.81% in after-hours trading.
Market analysts attribute the continued selloff to several factors. Despite Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's optimistic projection of a $3-4 trillion addressable market for AI infrastructure by 2030, investors have grown cautious. A stronger-than-expected jobs report lowered the probability of a December rate cut, sparking concerns that higher borrowing costs would disproportionately affect high-growth tech stocks. This macroeconomic backdrop, combined with profit-taking after the initial AI rally, has led to a broader reassessment of AI stock valuations, with IREN being particularly hard hit in both after-hours and pre-market trading.