(Reuters) – The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.2% on Friday, putting it on track to confirm it is in a correction following concerns about expensive Big Tech valuations and a cooling economy.
Hit by weaker-than-expected jobs reports and disappointing forecasts from Amazon and Intel, Nadsaq’s latest decline leaves it down 10.2% from its record high of 18,647.45 on July 10.
The Nasdaq 100 index was also on track to confirm correction territory from its all-time closing high of 20,675.38 points.
An index or stock is widely considered to be in correction, signaling investor pessimism, when it closes 10% or more below its previous record close.
The Nasdaq’s recent sell-off comes on the heels of investors selling Wall Street heavyweight stocks, after weak results from Tesla and Alphabet compounded investor worries about stretched valuations and concerns that a recovery fueled by optimism about AI technology may have become exaggerated.
Nvidia, Microsoft and other big tech stocks have been the main drivers of Wall Street’s rise to all-time highs in 2024, driven by expectations of interest rate cuts this year by the US Federal Reserve and euphoria around AI .
(Reporting by Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra and Shinjini Ganguli)
