{"text":[[{"start":10,"text":"US tech stocks tumbled the most since Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariff announcements in April 2025 shook Wall Street as rising bets on the Federal Reserve raising interest rates sent AI-linked shares reeling. "}],[{"start":23.65,"text":"The Nasdaq Composite fell 4.2 per cent on Friday, the biggest drop since April 10 last year, as shares in chipmakers and memory groups sold off sharply. The blue-chip S&P 500 declined 2.6 per cent, snapping a nine-week winning streak. "}],[{"start":39.7,"text":"Friday’s rout began after a much stronger than expected US jobs report triggered bets that the Fed will raise rates this year, sending short-term borrowing costs zooming higher. It comes after Wall Street stocks have soared in recent weeks to record highs amid optimism about vast investments in data centres and equipment to fuel the AI boom."}],[{"start":61.95,"text":"“The market was overbought and sentiment was euphoric. May non-farm payrolls was the straw to break the camel’s back,” said Mike Zigmont at Visdom Investment Group."}],[{"start":71.65,"text":"Companies that have been among the biggest high-fliers in US markets pulled back sharply on Friday. "}],[{"start":77.65,"text":"The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which tracks 30 of the world’s biggest US-listed chip groups, had surged more than 80 per cent this year but dropped 10.3 per cent on Friday, its biggest one-day decline since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020."}],[{"start":93.75,"text":"Sandisk, a maker of memory used in data centres, tumbled 11 per cent, while Intel pulled back by the same margin. Nvidia, the $5tn chip behemoth at the centre of the AI race, dropped 6 per cent. "}],[{"start":106.45,"text":"Investors shifted into defensive shares, seen as shelters during times of market strife. Kimberly-Clark, maker of Kleenex tissues, consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola were among Friday’s biggest advances."}],[{"start":120.55,"text":"“After a nine-week rally, the correction was always going to be big,” said James Bianco, president of Bianco Research. “This economy is very strong and we have an inflation issue the Fed has to address . . . How many hikes is the question that should be on their mind now.”"}],[{"start":136.5,"text":"The sell-off has been felt around the world, with South Korean chip giant SK Hynix falling 10 per cent on Friday. Samsung Electronics dropped 6 per cent."}],[{"start":147.5,"text":"US government bonds fell sharply in price after the jobs data, which showed the economy added 172,000 jobs last month and far more positions than expected in March and April. "}],[{"start":159.4,"text":"The two-year Treasury yield, which is sensitive to monetary policy expectations, rose 0.12 percentage point to a 15-month high of 4.17 per cent as markets fully priced in a rate increase in December. "}],[{"start":172.8,"text":"Higher yields are caustic to fast-growing, highly valued tech companies because they reduce the allure of their future cash flows. "}],[{"start":181.15,"text":"The sell-off comes at a pivotal moment for Wall Street, with SpaceX planning to go public next week in a deal that could raise $86bn and give Elon Musk’s AI-to-rockets conglomerate a $1.78tn valuation. AI behemoths Anthropic and OpenAI are also plotting their Wall Street debuts. "}],[{"start":203.1,"text":"Big Tech companies are also turning to equity capital markets to help fund their giant AI spending. The FT reported on Friday that Meta is considering a big share raising after Google this week announced a landmark $85bn offering. Meta fell as much as 7 per cent following the FT’s report. "}],[{"start":221.95,"text":"Analysts said Friday’s sell-off reflected the increasingly high bar for companies to impress investors after a stunning two-month tech rally. "}],[{"start":230.7,"text":"Jordan Rochester, a strategist at Mizuho, said the “incredible move higher in stocks [was] probably due a drawdown”."}],[{"start":238.25,"text":"“What truly ends the cycle is if the earnings growth takes a turn, or simply does not live up to elevated expectations,” Rochester added, pointing to disappointing earnings from Broadcom this week. He added this “could be a one-off” and was “yet to be seen across the board”."}],[{"start":255.65,"text":"The narrowness of the rally has prompted alarm from some investors, who have noted the market is increasingly reliant on the tech sector to power earnings growth. "}],[{"start":265.55,"text":"“Everything is really concentrated in this thematic,” said Nicolas Forest, chief investment officer at Candriam. “This is the elephant in the room — if we have questions or disappointment around results on AI, it will be very difficult to stay positive on risky assets.” "}],[{"start":289.15,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1780719260_7209.mp3"}