Daily Times

New York: The Nasdaq plunged more than three percent Thursday afternoon as tech shares experienced a sharp selloff following disappointing results from Facebook parent Meta.

Near 2010 GMT, the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 3.2 percent at 13,957.85, a larger drop than that experienced by the Dow and S&P 500. Besides Meta, which fell 26.7 percent, Amazon was down 7.7 percent ahead of its earnings release set for after the close.

Meta late Wednesday had reported weaker-than-expected profits following a loss of one million daily users globally on its signature social media platform. The dramatic sell-off is the latest to confront a big tech firm after a similar liquidation of Netflix shares last month. Other tech giants such as Apple and Google parent Alphabet have rallied after results.

All three major indices were decisively negative about 45 minutes before the close, threatening a four-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.3 percent at 35,181.32, while the broad-based S&P 500 had lost 2.1 percent to 4,491.41.

Also weighing on markets Thursday was the latest sign that central banks were ready to sharply pivot their policies to counter rising inflation. The Bank of England lifted its main interest rate for the second time in a row, while European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde opened the door to interest rate hikes later this year.

“The central bank factor was in play today as another negative on top of the Facebook news,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare. “What it has done has to redirect peoples’ attention back to the idea that policy tightening is going to be a headwind for the market for this year.”