• The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 167.58 points, or 0.78 percent, to 21,287.03, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 20.99 points, or 0.86 percent, to 2,419.7 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 90.06 points, or 1.44percent, to 6,144.35.
Wall Street fell sharply on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials suffering their worst daily percentage drops in about six weeks, as a recent decline in technology shares deepened and outweighed strength in bank shares.
The technology sector .SPLRCT, which has led the S&P 500's 8-percent gain for the year, dropped 1.8 percent, and were the worst-performing major group. Declines in big tech stocks, including Apple (AAPL.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O), weighed the most on the benchmark S&P.
The Nasdaq closed below its 50-day moving average for the first time since April 13, breaking below a key technical support level.
• The CBOE Volatility index .VIX, the widely followed barometer of expected near-term stock market volatility, rose to a six-week high of 15.16, before paring some of the move.
Equity investors also may be concerned about the rise in interest rates globally, as a slew of hawkish comments from central banks signaled the beginning of the end of ultra-loose monetary policy. European stocks also declined.
• Asian bourses opened lower on Friday morning after a softer lead from Wall Street as markets awaited key economic data out of China.
• The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.97 percent and the Kospi slipped 0.43 percent in early trade.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 pulled back 1.46 percent.
• Indonesian markets remained closed today.
Reference: Reuters
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