NEW YORK, New York - The sell-off in technology stocks accelerated Thursday with leading companies continuing to melt down. The crypto market has also come unhinged with bitcoin falling below $67,000, a 14-month low.
The three-day losing streak on Wall Street has some traders preparing to weigh in and buy. "We're not quite there yet in terms of wanting to avoid catching a falling knife, but at some point for that particular subsector, there's going to be an opportunity once things do get a bit too overdone there on the sell side," Stephen Tuckwood, director of investments at Modern Wealth Management told CNBC Thursday.
"The fact that some of these companies do release and they announce just additional capex spending, and it is astronomical at this point, we're actually viewing that as a positive sign for the market's health in general, because ... it's more that the market is discerning at this point rather than just irrational exuberance," Tuckwood said.
Thursday's downturn was again led by technology stocks and reflected investor caution ahead of key economic data.
The Standard and Poor's 500 experienced a significant decline, falling 84.44 points, or 1.23 percent, to close at 6,798.128 Trading volume was heavy at 4.209 billion shares.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 592.70 points, a loss of 1.20 percent, finishing the session at 48,908.60.
Technology stocks bore the brunt of the selling pressure. The NASDAQ Composite index fell 363.99 points, or 1.59 percent, to end at 22,540.59, in a high-volume session of 7.275 billion shares.
"Today's move is a clear wave of profit-taking and repositioning," said Lena Carter, chief market strategist at Sterling Capital. "Investors are locking in gains from the recent rally and moving to the sidelines ahead of tomorrow's jobs report and the start of earnings season next week. The momentum has decisively shifted to the sellers for now."
The declines marked one of the worst single-day performances for equities this year, with all major sectors finishing in the red. The losses put a dent in the indices' year-to-date advances, though the S&P 500 and Dow Jones remain up significantly from their 52-week lows.
Analysts suggest the market is in a holding pattern, awaiting fresh catalysts to determine its next direction. All eyes will now turn to Friday's non-farm payrolls report for signs of labor market strength and its implications for future interest rate policy.
U.S. Dollar Firms on Thursday as Euro and Pound Struggle
The U.S. dollar gained ground against most major currencies in foreign exchange trading on Thursday, driven by shifting market sentiment and comparative economic outlooks.
The euro retreated against the greenback, with EUR/USD falling 0.17 percent to trade at 1.1786. The British pound saw more pronounced weakness, as GBP/USD declined 0.69 percent to 1.3545, after the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged at 3.75 percent.
The commodity-linked Australian and New Zealand dollars also softened against the stronger U.S. currency. The AUD/USD pair dropped 0.63 percent to 0.6952, while NZD/USD fell 0.52 percent to 0.5967.
The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of peers, was buoyed by these moves. It found further support against the Canadian dollar, with USD/CAD rising 0.21 percent to 1.3689. The dollar also posted a minor gain against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF edging up 0.04 percent to 0.7775.
In a contrasting move, the dollar lost slight ground against the Japanese yen. The USD/JPY pair traded at 156.98, up only 0.11 percent, indicating a more muted session for the yen compared to other major currencies.
Analysts suggest the dollar's broad-based strength reflects a recalibration of expectations for interest rate differentials, placing pressure on European and commodity-sensitive currencies as markets digest the latest economic data and central bank commentary.
Global Markets Close Lower Thursday, Led by Sharp Declines in Canada and Asia-Pacific
A wave of selling pressure swept through global equity markets on Thursday, with major Canadian, UK, European and Asia-Pacific indices closing in negative territory. While a handful of markets posted modest gains, the overall sentiment was cautious amid lingering economic concerns.
Canada's main benchmark suffered a steep decline. TheS&P/TSX Composite indexplunged 576.95 points, or 1.77 percent, closing at 31,994.60.
London's FTSE 100 closed at 10,309.22, down 93.12 points or 0.90 percent. Germany's DAX fell 111.98 points to 24,491.06, a decline of 0.46 percent
In Europe, the sell-off was broad-based. France's CAC 40 dropped 0.29 percent to 8,238.17. The pan-European EURO STOXX 50 index was among the region's weaker performers, losing 44.77 points to end at 5,925.70, down 0.75 percent. The Euronext 100 fell 0.64 percent to 1,771.32, and Belgium's BEL 20 retreated 0.37 percent to 5,525.05.
The Asia-Pacific region witnessed some of the day's steepest losses. South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index plunged 207.53 points, or 3.86 percent, to close at 5,163.57. Taiwan's TWSE Index fell 1.51 percent to 31,801.27, and Japan's Nikkei 225 declined 0.88 percent to 53,818.04. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.43 percent to 8,889.20, while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 0.54 percent to 9,154.90. New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 saw a more modest decline of 0.17 percent.
In Southeast Asia and South Asia, markets were also lower. India's S&P BSE SENSEX fell 0.60 percent to 83,313.93, Indonesia's IDX Composite dropped 0.53 percent, and Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 0.68 percent. Israel's TA-125 index fell sharply by 1.80 percent to 4,027.22.
A few markets bucked the negative trend. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged up 0.14 percent to 26,885.24, and Singapore's STI Index gained 0.21 percent to 4,975.87. Egypt's EGX 30 rose 0.22 percent to 49,739.00, on a traded volume of 411.43 million Egyptian pounds.
Other notable moves included South Africa's Top 40 USD Net TRI Index, which tumbled 3.12 percent. China's SSE Composite Index closed at 4,075.92, down 0.64 percent.
The widespread declines reflect ongoing investor unease over geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and the trajectory of interest rates, setting a defensive tone ahead of the weekend trading sessions(This report incorporates quotes retrieved with the assistance of artificial intelligence).
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