WASHINGTON, Feb 2, (AP): US futures and Asian shares skidded on Monday as worries over President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the next Federal Reserve chair amplified jitters over a possible bubble in the artificial intelligence boom. South Korea’s exchange, which is heavily influenced by tech-related developments, briefly suspended trading as its benchmark Kospi bounced, closing 5.3% lower at 4,949.67.

Samsung Electronics gave up 6.3%, while chip maker SK Hynix sank 8.7%. The Kospi has been forging records for weeks as big tech companies piggybacked on the AI craze with deals with major players like chip maker Nvidia and OpenAI. Markets also took a hit as investors considered how Kevin Warsh, Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Reserve after Fed Chair Jerome Powell's term ends in May might handle interest rates.

The future for the S&P 500 sank 1.1% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9%. Warsh’s nomination requires Senate approval. But financial markets fear the Fed may lose some of its independence because of Trump, who has pushed hard for more and faster rate cuts. That fear has helped catapult skyward the price of gold and weaken the US dollar’s value over the last year.

"People do not get handed the keys to the most powerful central bank on earth because they plan to drive in the opposite direction of the people who gave them the keys,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. Early Monday, the price of gold fell 3.9%, while silver dropped 7.7%. Both plunged Friday as record runs in precious metals markets ground to a halt.

US benchmark crude oil lost $3.19 to $62.02 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, fell $3.25 to $66.07 per barrel. Speaking to reporters during the weekend, Trump said Iran should negotiate a "satisfactory” deal to prevent the Middle Eastern country from getting any nuclear weapons. "I don’t know that they will. But they are talking to us.

Seriously talking to us,” he said. That comment apparently assuaged some worries over potential disruptions to oil supplies that had pushed prices higher, analysts said. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gave up early gains, sinking 1.3% to 52,655.18. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 2.5% to 26,694.67, while the Shanghai Composite index sank 2.5% to 4,015.75. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 1% to 8,778.60.