Eric Platt and Kate Duguid in New York and George Steer and Tommy Stubbington in London
US stocks fell on Thursday as shares of some of the largest publicly traded technology companies slid in value after policy decisions from the European Central Bank, Bank of England and Federal Reserve.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 2.5 per cent, its worst day since late September, while the benchmark S&P 500 fell 0.9 per cent, led by declines in the tech sector.
The moves reversed gains registered on Wednesday, as Jay Powell, Fed chair, struck an upbeat tone about the economy and positioned the US central bank for tighter policy.
Tech stocks are particularly sensitive to interest rates as their value is based on the prospect of future growth, which is diminished by higher borrowing costs.
Laggards on US exchanges included chipmakers Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, two of the best-performing large-cap US stocks of the year, which fell 6.8 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively. Tesla, Adobe and Qualcomm also came under pressure, down 5 per cent, 10.2 per cent and 5.9 per cent, respectively.
In the US Treasury market, the two-year yield, which moves with interest rate expectations, fell 0.05 percentage points to 0.62 per cent. The benchmark 10-year yield dropped 0.03 percentage points to 1.43 per cent.
Read more on the day’s market moves here.
