Tech rout sends stock market to its biggest loss since June

NEW YORK — Wall Street’s euphoria took a break Thursday as steep losses in technology stocks dragged the rest of the market down with them.

It was the biggest decline for the U. S. stock market since early June. There seemed to be no explicit catalyst for the sell- off, with economic data coming in roughly where the market had expected and no companies issuing foreboding warnings.

That said, the market felt due for a breather, investors said. Both the S& P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs just the day before. Prior to Thursday, the S& P 500 had risen nine out of the previous 10 days.

Big Tech stocks like Apple, Amazon and Facebook have made massive gains this year. Investors have been betting those companies would continue posting huge profits as people spend even more time online with their devices.

The government reported that the number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits fell last week to 881,000, slightly better than what economists had expected. That said, companies are still letting workers go at numbers well above those seen in the Great Recession, meaning the jobs picture remains still extremely bleak despite recent improvements.

Investors will be paying close attention Friday when the Labor Department releases its August job report. Economists surveyed by FactSet forecast that the U. S. economy created 1.4 million jobs in August, but that would be down from 1.74 million jobs in July. And tens of millions of Americans remain unemployed.