The stock markets in New York entered the weekend with heavy losses on Friday. The technology indicator Nasdaq in particular fell sharply due to heavy falls in the chip sector. A loss of no less than 4.2 percent is good for the worst trading day since April 2025.
The Nasdaq fell 4.2 percent to 25,709.43 points, the biggest daily loss in more than a year. Sentiment on Wall Street was dampened by expectations that the US central bank could raise interest rates to combat high inflation. That expectation was further reinforced by a better-than-expected figure on American job growth.
Large chip funds such as Nvidia, Broadcom, Marvell Technology, Micron Technology, Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) lost almost 17 percent. Optimism about AI has actually pushed chip companies up sharply in recent weeks, pushing the Nasdaq and the broader S&P 500 to new records. But now profits were taken by investors.
The S&P 500 ended 2.6 percent lower at 7,383.74 points and the Dow Jones index fell 1.4 percent to 50,866.78 points after reaching a new record level on Thursday.