Wall Street was deep in the red as the tech company formerly known as
Facebook (FB) plummeted following its earnings. All three major stock indexes traded lower around mid-morning, led by losses for the
Nasdaq Composite (COMP), which was down 2.1%. The
S&P 500 (SPX), the broadest measure of the US stock market, fell 1.3%. The
Dow (INDU) fared slightly better, trading down 0.7%, or 236 points.
Late Wednesday,
Meta reported a rare drop in profits, driven by spending on its vision for a so-called metaverse while simultaneously confronting advertising challenges on its existing services.
The company’s shares plummeted in after-hours trading and are continuing their steep drop on Thursday. By mid-morning, the stock was down nearly 25%, making it the worst performer in the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite. It’s shaping up to be the stock’s worst day since it started to trade publicly in 2012.
The fall also dragged other tech stocks down, including
Amazon (AMZN),
Etsy (ETSY),
Pinterest (PINS) and
Twitter (TWTR). Amazon is due to report earnings after the close.
Might this be the end of the prominent role the FAANG stocks — Facebook,
Apple (AAPL), Amazon,
Netflix (NFLX) and
Google (GOOG) — have played in the market? It’s a bit early to call that, and some of them are still doing well,
TD Ameritrade (AMTD) chief market strategist JJ Kinahan said.
“Apple announced better-than-expected earnings last week and reported very few supply chain issues, even with the microchip shortage that so many other companies have struggled with,” he added. “While the market may be looking for new leadership to help pull stocks out of their funk, Apple and Alphabet don’t seem to be ready to relinquish their positions any time soon.”
–CNN Business’ Clare Duffy contributed to this report.