Heavy selloffs among tech firms hammered equities Thursday, tracking a plunge on Wall Street as disappointing earnings caused traders to panic that a months-long rally in the sector may have been overdone.
Tokyo’s Nikkei led the retreat in equities, diving more than three percent, with a stronger yen adding to the downward pressure on exporters.
Global stocks have pushed ever higher this year — with New York’s three main indexes hitting multiple records — with tech titans such as Alphabet and chip makers such as Nvidia and TSMC boosted by an explosion of interest in all things linked to artificial intelligence.
The rallies have been helped by blockbuster profits and upbeat outlooks, causing investors to pile more cash in owing to a fear of missing out.
However, with valuations pushing to dizzying heights, analysts have been warning about retreat and Tuesday’s earnings from Tesla and Google-parent Alphabet provided a selling …