US equity markets declined as some major technology earnings continued to rattle investor sentiment - Dow dropped -518-points or -1.45% . The broader S&P500 shed -2.44%, snapping a four session rally and recording its biggest daily drop since February 2021. Communication Services tumbled -6.83% to lead ten of the eleven primary sectors lower, while Consumer Discretionary (down -3.57%) and Information Technology (-3.07%) both fell over >3%. Consumer Staples was the only primary sector to advance, eking out a +0.01% gain. PayPal Holdings Inc fell -6.24%, bringing their total decline to just under 30% since the closing bell on Tuesday (1 February) when the payments company warned that a weakening ecommerce environment would slow its growth rate. The technology-centric Nasdaq slumped -3.74%, logging its worst single session decline since September 2020. Meta Platforms Inc (formerly Facebook) tumbled -26.39%, wiping more than >US$230B off its market capitalisation after posting disappointing fourth quarter earnings per share and weaker-than-expected guidance after the closing bell of the previous session. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 fell -1.90%.
