Retail investors who have kept the faith in tech stocks have been amply rewarded by buying the dip over the years, but their patience and optimism were being tested again on Friday as the tech-heavy Nasdaq opened 2 per cent lower.
Wall Street had closed sharply lower on Thursday in an abrupt reversal from the rally in the previous trading session, with the Nasdaq registering its biggest one-day decline since June 2020 and the largest U-turn since the start of the pandemic.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 5 per cent. The rally on Wednesday and the retreat on Thursday marked the sharpest gyration in the index since March 2020, with the Nasdaq oscillating more than 8 percentage points over two days of trading.