U.S. technology shares fell a second day after spreading to Asia and Europe on concern the group had risen too far too quickly. The pound retreated as an embattled Theresa May fought to survive the fallout from the British general election.
The Nasdaq 100 index capped its biggest two-day decline since September after closing Thursday with a 21 percent gain for the year. Samsung Electronics, ASML Holding and Tencent Holdings led declines in Europe and Asia.
Energy shares advanced, mitigating losses in the S&P 500 index, as crude topped $46 a barrel.
Treasuries and the dollar were little changed two days before the Federal Reserve’s policy decision.
The sudden slide in tech stocks, which had helped send global equities to repeated record levels this year, blindsided many investors after markets largely brushed aside last week’s trio of risk events. The question now is whether the drops represent merely a pause or a more fundamental crack in the U.S. stock bull market. The Nasdaq 100 fell as much as 2 percent before paring losses into the close.
(c) 2017, Bloomberg News · Jeremy Herron
{Matzav}
