Nasdaq Drops 2.1% as Tech Sell-Off Ends Four-Week Winning Streak

A sharp sell-off in technology shares brought an end to a four-week rally for the Nasdaq Composite on Friday, pulling major U.S. stock indices lower to close out the trading week, according to market data reported by Yahoo Finance (https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/nasdaq-falls-end-four-week-205455687.html?.tsrc=rss). The tech-heavy index fell 2.1% during the session to end at 26,140.03. Broad-market indices also declined, with the S&P 500 falling 1.1% to 7,659.44 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.3% to 52,002.41.

The Friday decline left the Nasdaq Composite down 4.5% for the week, marking its worst five-day performance since June and halting four consecutive weeks of gains. The S&P 500 slipped 1.9% across the week, while the Dow gained 0.7%. Across sectors on Friday, technology paced the laggards while energy led the gainers.

Enterprise technology and semiconductor names accounted for the steepest losses on the Dow, including Alphabet, Salesforce, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Amazon, and Nvidia. Additional selling pressure hit chip and memory manufacturers, with Micron Technology, Advanced Micro Devices, and Sandisk all posting losses.

The downturn highlights continuing questions around market breadth following fresh closing highs recorded by both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite on October 6. With recent index gains concentrated in a small group of large-cap tech companies, market analysts have cautioned that a broader correction remains a risk while the majority of S&P 500 constituent stocks trade below their historic highs.

Treasury yields were mixed on the day. The two-year Treasury yield dropped 3.2 basis points to 4.72%, while the 10-year yield held unchanged at 5.09%. Economic data from the Federal Reserve showed U.S. industrial production expanded faster than anticipated in September, lifted by rebounding manufacturing output despite weakness in automotive components.

Commodities saw notable gains in energy, with Brent crude rising 3.4% to $109.53 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate gaining 3.8% to $101.64. Both oil benchmarks closed higher for the week, with Brent logging its fourth straight weekly increase amid Middle East geopolitical tensions following reports cited by CNBC that Saudi Arabia intercepted missiles and drones targeting the Yanbu oil export terminal. In precious metals, spot gold dipped 0.1% to $4,166.56 per troy ounce, while silver held flat at $57.14 per ounce.