Apple, Microsoft and Salesforce lead tech losses in day's market slump
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Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) were among the tech-sector leaders driven into red, Thursday, as stocks across the board slumped as negativity washed over U.S. markets.
At issue were a host of economic concerns, including bigger-than-expected jobless claims, and data showing U.S. productivity in the first quarter posted its biggest decline since 1947. Investors also turned their backs on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell saying on Wednesday that the Fed would raise its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points, but that there were no current plans for another increase of 75 basis points in the near future.
By the time the closing bell rang, Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) had fallen more than 3%, or more than 1,000 points. The S&P 500 (SP500) shed 3.6%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP.IND) had dropped 5%.
For many tech stocks, the day's losses amounted to a case of guilt by association.
Apple (AAPL) shares fell 5.6%, while Microsoft (MSFT) shed more than 4%, and Salesforce (CRM) ended the day down by 7%.
Other declines came from Alphabet (GOOG), (GOOGL), down by 7%; Facebook parent Meta Platforms (FB), which slumped by almost 7%; HP (HPQ), off by 3.7%; Qualcomm (QCOM), down almost 5%, Intel (INTC), which shed 3.4%, and Netflix (NFLX), which continued its recent slump by falling nearly 8% on the day.
Twitter (TWTR) was a rare gainer, as its shares rose 2.7%. The company appeared to benefit from Elon Musk lining up more than $7 billion in additional funding--including $1 billion from Oracle's (ORCL) Larry Ellison--and a report that Musk will take over as Twitter (TWTR) chief executive on a temporary basis once his $44 billion acquisition of the social-media giant in completed.