In a dramatic turn of events, the seven most valuable U.S. tech giants, collectively saw their market valuations plummet by $1 trillion at the open of trading on Monday, amid a global market selloff on fears that the U.S is at risk of recession.
The S&P 500 fell 4.2% and the Nasdaq 100 declined 5.4% as US markets opened with a sharp decline affecting major players across the board, signaling a challenging period for the industry and investors alike. Artificial Intelligence giant chipmaker Nvidia, shed more than $300 billion in market cap at the opening bell. Apple and Amazon saw their valuation plummet by $224 billion and $109 billion respectively.
Adding to the list, Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Tesla, along with the seven most valuable tech companies lost a whopping $995 billion in the early moments of trading.
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Investors have expressed concern that the shares of big US tech companies may have risen too far in recent months, with some key figures like Warren Buffett selling stakes. This according to them has caused the likes of Apple and Nvidia to see their share price drop sharply, prompting sharp corrections in Asian markets which have invested heavily in technology stocks.
On Monday, the trading market was ushered by mayhem across global markets with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 plunging a staggering 12.4% and the yen strengthening as much as 3% against the dollar. This spurred investors around the world to react to the latest U.S. jobs report, which showed a far lower-than-expected nonfarm payroll figure suggesting weakness in the labor market that could signal recession.
Meanwhile, Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee has downplayed US recession fears, but however stated that the Federal Reserve officials need to monitor changes in the environment to avoid being too restrictive with interest rates.
“You only want to be that restrictive if you think there’s fear of overheating…these data, to me, do not look like overheating,” he told CNBC news.
He further added that the central bank’s job is not to react to one month of weaker labor data, noting that if economic conditions deteriorate, the central bank will fix it. “The Fed’s job is very straightforward: maximize employment, stabilize prices, and maintain financial stability. That’s what we’re going to do”, he concludes.
In an opposing view, Chief US economist at TS Lombard, Steven Blitz, says that if the Federal Reserve is going to wait for things to be bad, then “it’s too late” He adds that the U.S is in a position where there are warnings that if the Federal Reserve doesn’t start to cut interest rates and cut a lot soon, it will plunge the country into recession by the end of the year.
However, it is worth noting that the US unimpressive jobs report wasn’t the first indication of trouble in the markets. Last week, data on manufacturing and housing suggested an economic downturn, while the tech sector had already begun to weaken. The latest jobs data appear to have acted as the catalyst for a selloff that was already developing, potentially amplified by technical factors.
As companies navigate through the financial turbulence, market watchers are keenly observing the factors driving this significant downturn and its potential long-term implications on the tech landscape.
Commenting on the global market selloff, U.S. former President and current Republican Presidential aspirant, Donald Trump, has accused US Vice President Kamala Harris of the recent global market decline.
In a series of posts on his social media site Truth, he blamed the VP and the Democrats for the downturn and said stockholders were rejecting her candidacy.
“STOCK MARKETS ARE CRASHING, JOBS NUMBERS ARE TERRIBLE, WE ARE HEADING TO WORLD WAR lll, AND WE HAVE TWO OF THE MOST INCOMPETENT “LEADERS” IN HISTORY. THIS IS NOT GOOD!!!’ he wrote
“Voters have a choice. Trump prosperity or the Kamala crash & great depression of 2024”, he added. Trump’s recent backlash amid the global market selloff, suggests what the U.S economy would look like without his leadership.
Notably, the crypto market wasn’t spared in the global selloff, the market experienced a significant downturn, erasing $270 billion in market value as major digital assets recorded sharp declines. The selloff in the crypto market coincided with a broader slide in equities in Asia-Pacific markets.
The sharp downward crypto market decline has now seen over $740 million in leverage positions wiped out in the last 24 hours, with just over $644 million in leveraged longs being liquidated, according to CoinGlass data.
While there are concerns about the global market selloff plunging further, several investors have stated that the current market situation presents a good buying opportunity for investors.