Tech Stocks Take Center Stage in Market Sell-Off

The U.S. stock market took a massive plunge on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-3.15%), the S&P 500 (-3.29%) and the Nasdaq Composite Index (-4.1%) all seeing significant declines. For the latter, it was the worst day since the Brexit vote wreaked havoc on international markets in June 2016, only this time it was fueled by investors' fears of rising interest rates. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, historically low borrowing rates had fueled a long bull market run that may now be coming to an end.

Tech stocks were no exception in Wednesday’s sell-off. In fact, they took center stage as the famous FAANG companies all suffered bigger declines than the market overall. As our chart illustrates, the market capitalization of six of the most coveted U.S. tech companies collectively dropped by more than $220 billion, dwarfing the losses incurred in the “flash crash” in February this year.

After Wednesday’s rout, Wall Street is bracing for another down day on Thursday, continuing what is already the worst start to a quarter in about two years.