Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Nasdaq sheds 4% as worst tech selloff since 2020 tanks US stocks

Nasdaq sheds 4% as worst tech selloff since 2020 tanks US stocks

Facebook owner Meta Platforms suffered a historic drop that wiped more than $250bn from its value.

The worst selloff in technology shares since fall 2020 sent U.S. equity indexes reeling, halting a four-day rebound.

The Nasdaq 100 shed 4.2% and the S&P 500 fell 2.4% as Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc. suffered a historic rout that wiped more than $250 billion from its value.

The declines came as investors also digested concerns about persistently high inflation from the European Central Bank with hawkish comments from Christine Lagarde. The euro spiked higher along with European bond yields. Meanwhile U.S. Treasuries followed the euro zone lower and the dollar fell.

“We got hit with a one-two punch today with the big drop in Facebook and the surprising news that the ECB has become more hawkish,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist for Miller Tabak + Co. “The stock market had rallied in the afternoon each of the last four days, so traders were hoping that could bail us out again. When the rally didn’t materialize, traders lost a lot of confidence.”

Weak numbers from U.S. tech giants including Spotify Technology SA jolted investors who had bet a strong earnings season would keep equities attractive and counter some of their lingering worries including tighter monetary policy. Markets have swung sharply and stocks are nursing losses this year as officials pare stimulus to curb inflation.


In Europe, the Bank of England hiked its key rate and signaled it would start running down bond holdings. Meanwhile, the ECB held its interest rates and said net buying under its emergency support program will end in March.

Lagarde said inflation would remain elevated for longer but the bank was getting “much closer” to its inflation target. Germany’s two-year yield rose to a 2015 high. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell below its 100-day moving average.

“As markets focus closely on large, developed-market monetary policy stances — and investor sentiment around the globe shifts — economic activity data releases will be key,” said Marilyn Watson, head of global fundamental fixed income strategy at BlackRock.

Growth in the U.S. services sector pulled back in January to the slowest pace in nearly a year. Meanwhile, U.S. initial jobless claims fell more than expected last week to 238,000 ahead of data on payrolls Friday.

“Tomorrow’s jobs report is a reminder that expectations for Fed policy are the key influence on this market right now, and if economic data, especially inflation data, comes in ‘too hot’ then that will rekindle hawkish Fed concerns like in January, and we would expect at least a partial return of the January volatility,” wrote Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader who founded “The Sevens Report” newsletter. “Bottom line, Fed policy still very much matters to this market.”

What to watch this week:


*  U.S. payrolls report for January, Friday

*  Winter Olympics kick off in China, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin due to attend opening ceremony, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks


*  The S&P 500 fell 2.4% as of 4:01 p.m. New York time

*  The Nasdaq 100 fell 4.2%

*  The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.5%

*  The MSCI World index fell 1.8%

Currencies


*  The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%

*  The euro rose 1.1% to $1.1431

*  The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.3595

*  The Japanese yen fell 0.4% to 114.94 per dollar

Bonds


*  The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced five basis points to 1.83%

*  Germany’s 10-year yield advanced 10 basis points to 0.14%

*  Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 11 basis points to 1.37%

Commodities


*  West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.1% to $90.11 a barrel

*  Gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,806.80 an ounce

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×