Stay informed with free updates
Simply sign up to the US equities myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.
US technology stocks sank sharply on Wednesday after lacklustre overnight results from index heavyweights Tesla and Alphabet, deepening the recent sell-off in a sector that has driven the bulk of market gains this year.
The Nasdaq Composite was down 2.8 per cent by early afternoon in New York, with Google parent Alphabet 5.1 per cent lower despite narrowly beating analysts’ revenue forecasts. Advertising revenue from YouTube missed consensus estimates.
Tesla sank 10 per cent after profits fell well short of expectations, leaving the electric-vehicle maker on course for its biggest one-day decline since late January.
The sell-off deepens a recent slump for the high-flying tech sector, as investors have fled stocks boosted by the promise of AI for unloved corners of the market such as smaller companies.
The Nasdaq is down more than 5 per cent from its high on July 11, when lower than forecast US inflation triggered the dramatic market rotation.
Alphabet and Tesla’s results will “feed concerns” that the broader market has become too reliant on the Magnificent Seven of big tech stocks, said Charlie McElligott, an analyst at Nomura.
“Risk sentiment remains fragile,” he added.
UBS on Wednesday reiterated its “sell” rating on Tesla’s stock, warning that the “timeframe and probability of success” of plans to roll out self-driving “robotaxis” — which Elon Musk officially postponed on Tuesday — remains unclear.
Google’s spend and outlook was being used as an indicator for the wider trend of backing companies with links to generative AI, said analysts.
All of the Magnificent Seven were lower. Chipmaker Nvidia, which has more than doubled this year, was off almost 4 per cent. Facebook parent Meta also slid 4 per cent while Apple and Microsoft fell almost 3 per cent.
“We’ve got some of the Magnificent Seven digging their heels in, in terms of spending on AI, and if they’re not wildly exceeding [earnings] expectations, that’s when you get some profit-taking,” said Kevin Gordon, a senior investment strategist at Charles Schwab.
Wall Street’s blue-chip S&P 500 fell 1.7 per cent. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies, which has recently rallied strongly on hopes of interest cuts as soon as September, fell just 0.2 per cent.
Wednesday’s sell-off comes as “the macro picture appears to be cracking”, said JPMorgan analysts in a note to clients, who highlighted weakening regional activity data and a housing market that continued “to crumble”.
Data released last week showed the number of Americans remaining on unemployment aid hit the highest level since 2021.
Credit: Source link
