Global stocks fell on Tuesday, led by a retreat in Big Tech, as fears of rising US interest rates and a recent plunge in SpaceX shares soured sentiment towards a sector that has powered markets to record highs this year.
The Nasdaq Composite index fell 2 per cent in early trading, with the S&P 500 losing 1.5 per cent.
Chipmakers – among the most popular bets in the recent artificial intelligence-led market rally – suffered especially steep losses on Tuesday, with Micron and Intel down 12 per cent and 6 per cent respectively.
In Europe, the benchmark Stoxx 600 index was down 0.9 per cent, with chip equipment maker ASML, the region’s biggest company by market value, down 4.8 per cent.
Arun Sai, senior multi-asset strategist at Pictet Asset Management, said: “It’s a double whammy of building AI scepticism and strong economic growth in the US,” with the latter prompting worries of higher interest rates, as well as making non-tech, cyclical stocks relatively more attractive.
