Nasdaq Plunges 4.18% in Worst Day in Over a Year as Chip Stocks Crater

According to RTHK, US stocks sold off sharply on Friday, with the Nasdaq index plunging 1,121 points, or 4.18%, to close at 25,709 — its steepest single-session decline in more than a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 695 points, or 1.35%, to 50,866, while the S&P 500 dropped 200 points, or 2.64%, to 7,383, snapping a nine-week winning streak. The rout was triggered by May non-farm payrolls, which rose by 172,000, well above market expectations. The stronger-than-expected labor data fueled concerns that the Federal Reserve could keep interest rates higher for longer or even consider further rate hikes, raising fears that tighter policy may weigh on economic growth. The PHLX Semiconductor Sector tumbled more than 10%, its worst single-day loss since March 2020. Nvidia fell more than 6%, erasing over $300 billion in market capitalization. Broadcom declined nearly 8%, Intel and Micron lost between 11% and 13%, and Marvell Technology slid nearly 17%. Cisco led Dow decliners with a drop of more than 6%, while IBM also fell nearly 6%. Procter & Gamble bucked the trend, rising more than 4% as the index’s top gainer. Among other mega-cap stocks, Tesla shed nearly 7%, Meta lost nearly 6%, Microsoft and Amazon each fell more than 3%, and Alphabet and Apple each declined roughly 1%. For the week, the Dow fell 0.3% and the Nasdaq lost nearly 4.7%, with both indexes snapping two-week winning streaks. The S&P 500 declined about 2.6%.