US stocks slump as fears over Big Tech shake Wall Street
Stock markets suffered a sharp drop on Friday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq index seeing its biggest one-day drop since April 2025. With fears mounting that gains so far this year may be unsustainable, a surprisingly strong US jobs report for April sparked a selloff, with the majo
Stock markets suffered a sharp drop on Friday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq index seeing its biggest one-day drop since April 2025.
With fears mounting that gains so far this year may be unsustainable, a surprisingly strong US jobs report for April sparked a selloff, with the major US markets ending the week in the red.
The data stoked fresh fears among investors that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer, especially as inflation remains stubborn.
The Nasdaq index fell by more than 4%, the S&P 500 closed 2.6% lower and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.35%.
Digital assets also suffered a sharp selloff on Friday. Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency, dropped sharply as investors rushed to offload riskier assets across the board.
The sudden drop showed how much investors fear high interest rates.
While a strong jobs market is usually good news for the economy, it means the Federal Reserve is less likely to cut borrowing costs anytime soon.
David Doyle, head of economics at Macquarie Group, said Friday's jobs report was potentially "too good", especially against a backdrop of high inflation.
