Tech Wreck: Markets Plunge As Apple Sets Market Cap Loss Record

Technology led the market down Thursday, where all three major indices saw big losses and Apple Inc. AAPL set a market cap loss record.

What Happened: Apple set a global record by losing $180 billion in market cap.

The prior U.S. record was Facebook FB, which lost $120 billion in one day back in July 2018 due to weak earnings and the Cambridge Analytica data-mining scandal. The global record was set by Volkswagen AG VWAGY, which lost $143 billion back in October 2008.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 2.79% to 28,289.63. The S&P 500 closed down 3.46% to $3,456.79. The Nasdaq Composite closed down 4.96% to $11,458.10.

Why It Matters: The Nasdaq index has only lost 2.5% or more the day after hitting a record high, as it did in Wednesday’s trading session, nine times.

The “Fab 5” mega-cap stocks, which include Apple, Microsoft MSFT, Alphabet Inc GOOG, Amazon.com AMZN and Facebook, lost over $500 billion in combined market cap Thursday.

This was the biggest percentage drop for Apple shares since their 12.9% loss back on March 16.

“The stock market has run a long way in a short amount of time, particularly in the technology sector. This market has been due for a pullback. Actually, overdue,” Bankrate Chief Financial Analyst Greg McBride said in an email.

Price Action: Apple shares fell 8% to $120.88, while Microsoft shares fell 6% to $217.30. Tesla TSLA saw shares trade down for the third consecutive day, closing down 9% to $407.00.

Image credit: bfishadow, Flickr