US: Stocks fall as several large tech names retreat

WALL Street stocks fell for a second straight session on Thursday (May 30) following a downgrade in a US growth report as several large tech shares tumbled.

The world’s biggest economy expanded at an annual rate of 1.3 per cent in the January to March period, the Commerce Department said, below the 1.6 per cent figure published last month.

Meanwhile, Dow member Salesforce plunged nearly 20 per cent as the technology company published mixed results and lowered some of its full-year projections.

Several other large tech companies followed Salesforce lower. Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet and Amazon all fell 1.5 per cent or more.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.9 per cent at 38,111.48.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.6 per cent to 5,235.48, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 1.1 per cent to 16,737.08.

The losses came on the heels of Wednesday’s session in which major indices retreated amid worries that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates high due to persistent inflation.

“It’s all about interest rates. We don’t see any relief in sight from the Fed,” said Jack Ablin of Cresset Capital. “There is a growing view that they won’t cut at all this year.”

Among individual companies, Best Buy soared 13.4 per cent despite reporting a 6.1 per cent drop in comparable sales as investors were encouraged by commentary suggesting an improvement in the second half of 2024.

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But Kohl’s plunged 22.9 per cent after results missed expectations. The retailer reported a loss of US$27 million. AFP