US stock markets see worst day since 2025

US stock markets closed Thursday with huge losses, seeing their deepest one-day drop in 19 months, driven down by a sharp retreat in technology shares.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,834.84 points, or 3.44%, to 51,521.28.

The S&P 500 fell sharply by 4.35%, or 334.82 points, to 7,353.80, while the Nasdaq Composite decreased 5.52%, or 1,421.52 points, to close at 24,315.00.

The Volatility Index (VIX), often referred to as the market's "fear index," jumped 61.89% to 26.89.

The retreat marked the steepest single-day drop for major US stock indices since April 2025, when President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff announcements triggered global market turmoil.

Selling pressure across Wall Street accelerated as investors reassessed the lofty valuations of megacap tech giants following a series of corporate updates.

Market sentiment weakened further amid growing skepticism over when heavy corporate spending on artificial intelligence (AI) would translate into meaningful profits.

Persistent pressure from elevated Treasury bond yields also reduced appetite for equities by increasing borrowing costs and offering attractive risk-free returns.

Broad-based profit-taking across industrial and consumer sectors added to the downward momentum following a recent run of market gains.

Uncertainty surrounding the future trajectory of central bank interest rate cuts kept traders cautious, dampening dip-buying demand toward the closing bell.

After the Democrats' victory in the US midterm elections, energy prices posted a significant decline late Wednesday and early Thursday.

Despite some recoveries, Brent crude oil stood at $98.40 per barrel as of 2100GMT, while it had traded above $110 earlier in the week.

Precious metal prices gained as the price of an ounce of gold increased by 0.6% to $4,080.

The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell by 6,000 to 189,000 last week, below expectations, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.

European stocks end week in red

European stock markets ended the day mostly lower, as the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.38% to 654.87 points.

Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.43% to 10,782.66, Germany’s DAX 40 decreased 0.43% to 26,325.01, and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.34% to 8,205.37.

Italy’s FTSE MIB went down 1.03% to close at 50,505.87, while Spain's IBEX 35 gained 0.59% to close at 19,486.00.