Stocks Hit by Tech Slide in Run-Up to Jobs Report: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — A selloff in technology shares dragged down the equity market, while uncertainties about the impacts of a trade war on the economy continued to weigh on sentiment.

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The S&P 500 dropped 1.5% and Nasdaq 100 slid 1.8%, with Nvidia Corp. leading a rout in megacaps. Marvell Technology Inc. plunged 19% as its outlook disappointed investors looking for a bigger payoff from the AI boom. Broadcom Inc. slumped ahead of its earnings report. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. climbed after unveiling its latest open-sourced AI model. Treasury trading was fairly muted — in contrast to the extended plunge in Europe.

Just 24 hours ahead of the all-important US payrolls report, data showed jobless claims fell last week, offering some relief after other figures pointed to a worsening labor-market. The employment print is expected to show a pick in job growth. Data for the report was collected prior to many of the federal cuts.

“On any other day, today’s modest jobless claims number may have offset some of the concerns raised by yesterday’s weak ADP report,” said Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley. “But right now, trade policy is dominating market action. Until the tariff smoke clears, it could continue to be a bumpy ride for traders and investors.”

The European Central Bank lowered interest rates for the sixth time since June and indicated that its cutting phase may be drawing to a close as inflation cools and the economy digests seismic shifts in geopolitics.

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Key events this week:

• Eurozone GDP, Friday

• US jobs report, Friday

• Fed Chair Jerome Powell gives keynote speech at an event in New York hosted by University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Friday

• Fed’s John Williams, Michelle Bowman and Adriana Kugler speak, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 fell 1.5% as of 9:56 a.m. New York time

• The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.8%

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.2%

• The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.4%

• The MSCI World Index fell 1%

• Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index fell 1.8%

• The Russell 2000 Index fell 1.5%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%

• The euro rose 0.4% to $1.0834

• The British pound was unchanged at $1.2895

• The Japanese yen rose 0.9% to 147.60 per dollar