Global tech sell-off wipes billions as investors flee high-growth stocks
Global tech stocks took a sharp hit this week as investors shifted away from high-growth companies. The sell-off spread from the US to Asian markets, wiping billions off major firms. Some losses were later softened, but the downturn remained broad.
The decline began in the US, where the Nasdaq dropped 1.51% and the S&P 500's software sector fell 1%. Microsoft's shares plunged over 10% after announcing capital spending would exceed $140 billion. AMD suffered even worse, tumbling 17%, while Nvidia lost 3.4% and Palantir and Micron each fell by at least 9%.
Amazon's stock also weakened, down 4.06% over seven days and 4.23% over the past month, trading at €193.93. Alphabet initially saw after-hours losses of more than 7%, though these were later trimmed to under 0.5%. Bitcoin added to the downturn, dropping 3.4% to $70,160—its lowest since November 2024.
Meta was an exception, with its shares rising despite plans to spend $135 billion on capital projects. Investors appeared confident in AI-driven advertising growth.
The sell-off quickly reached Asia. South Korea's Kospi index fell 3.9%, and Japan's Nikkei lost 0.73%. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both slid over 5%, dragging the MSCI Asia-Pacific index down 1.8%. US investors, meanwhile, moved funds into defensive stocks like Walmart, abandoning riskier tech bets.
The tech sector's steep decline left major firms with significant losses, though some recovered partially. Microsoft's spending plans and Meta's AI focus drew particular attention. Markets in Asia mirrored the downturn, with key indices and chipmakers suffering heavy falls.
