Morning Highlights: Asian markets fall, Anthropic's Claude tops the leaderboard

Major technology companies - Nvidia, Amazon and Alphabet - have stepped up security measures for employees in the Middle East region. Sam Altman, head of OpenAI, said at a meeting with employees that the company does not make decisions about how its technologies are used by the Pentagon. About these and other topics - in our review of key events by the morning of March 4.

OpenAI head Sam Altman said at a meeting with employees that the company does not make decisions about how its technologies are used by the Pentagon, CNBC writes. According to him, OpenAI can only advise where models are appropriate and build security, but "operational decisions" are made by U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

The meeting came days after the announcement of OpenAI's new agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense. The contract allows the company's models to be used in the Pentagon's closed networks. It was concluded shortly after the US authorities stopped the use of competing company Anthropic's technologies in federal structures.

South Korean index Kospi on Wednesday, March 4, collapsed by more than 12% on the background of the escalating conflict in the Middle East, after which partially recovered the fall, writes CNBC. Trading on the exchange was temporarily suspended due to the triggering of protection mechanisms, and shares of key companies - Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix - fell sharply. Analysts attribute the sell-off to profit taking after strong market growth and concerns that the development of AI data centers may slow down due to high energy costs.

Other markets in the region were also affected by the fall: Japan's Nikkei 225 and Topix lost about 4%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell by more than 2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng - by almost 3%. The pressure is intensified by rising oil prices amid Iran's actual blockage of the Strait of Hormuz: Brent rose above $83 per barrel, while WTI is trading at $73.

Anthropic's Claude AI chatbot has become the most downloaded free app in the App Store and Google Play after the company's public dispute with the US Department of Defense, Yahoo Finance writes. The dispute stemmed from Anthropic's refusal to allow its models to be used for mass surveillance of Americans and the development of fully autonomous weapons. After that, US President Donald Trump ordered to stop using the company's technology in federal structures within six months.

Nvidia, Amazon and Alphabet are taking measures to protect employees in the Middle East after US and Israeli strikes on Iran and the ensuing escalation of the conflict, CNBC writes. Nvidia temporarily closed its Dubai office and moved employees to remote work. Amazon also moved corporate staff in the region to remote work. Social network Snap has asked employees in its Middle East offices to work from home until further notice.

Google also said dozens of its employees were stuck in the UAE after the conference because of massive flight cancelations. According to aviation analysts, more than 11,000 flights have been canceled in the region since the conflict began.

- Japan's broad Topix index was down 3.79 percent on March 4, with the Nikkei 225 losing 3.76 percent.

- Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 2.86%. CSI 300 index of mainland China was falling by 1.38%.

- In South Korea, the Kospi index was down 9.7% and the Kosdaq was down 13.36%.

- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 1.49 percent.

- S&P 500 futures were down 0.62%, Nasdaq Composite futures were down 0.87% and Dow Jones Industrial Average exchange-traded contracts were down 0.5%.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor