Technology stocks that have powered US equities to record highs this summer went into sharp reverse on Thursday, sending the Nasdaq 100 index tumbling almost 5 per cent in its biggest fall since June.
Apple’s shares slid 7 per cent by midday in New York — wiping more than $150bn from the iPhone maker’s value — while Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft all fell more than 5 per cent. Several of the coronavirus era’s superstar stocks, such as Tesla and Zoom Video Communications, suffered steeper drops.
The pullback offered a reminder that the US equity market’s 55 per cent rally since the depths of the crisis in March is still vulnerable to short-term shocks.