Anthropic AI Launch Triggers Global Software Selloff and Commodity Volatility
Anthropic's Claude Cowork plug-in launch sparked a software selloff while geopolitical tensions and central bank meetings drove gold and oil price swings.
Insights:
Anthropic's launch of plug-ins for its Claude Cowork agent has triggered a significant repricing across global software, data-analytics, and professional-services stocks. This AI-driven move on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, saw investors react to perceived AI-driven competitive threats, leading to double-digit percentage drops for some providers before markets began to recover later in the day.
The selloff impacted major listed firms including London Stock Exchange Group plc , RELX Plc , and Wolters Kluwer N.V. in the Netherlands 
NL. Other notable entities experiencing volatility included Thomson Reuters Corporation , CME Group Inc. , and Experian plc . In the broader technology and software space, Salesforce, Inc. , Datadog, Inc. , and Adobe Inc. were also affected as the market assessed the impact of Anthropic and its rival OpenAI. Market benchmarks such as the STOXX 600 and FTSE 100 in Britain 
GB registered notable moves during the initial selloff.
NL. Other notable entities experiencing volatility included Thomson Reuters Corporation , CME Group Inc. , and Experian plc . In the broader technology and software space, Salesforce, Inc. , Datadog, Inc. , and Adobe Inc. were also affected as the market assessed the impact of Anthropic and its rival OpenAI. Market benchmarks such as the STOXX 600 and FTSE 100 in Britain GB registered notable moves during the initial selloff.
