Financial markets in Asia and the United States fell sharply on concerns the world’s largest economy could be heading toward recession.
Shares in U.S. semiconductor giant Nvidia fell nearly 10% as worries about the economy dampened optimism about an artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
Major stock indexes in Asia also fell on Wednesday, following a sharp drop in New York’s main stock index.
Investors are turning more cautious after new data showed U.S. manufacturing activity remains weak, with attention focused on a key jobs report due on Friday.
“Growth concerns are dominating market action,” Julia Lee of FTSE Russell told the BBC.
In New York on Tuesday, the S&P 500 Index closed down more than 2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell more than 3%.
Nasdaq-listed Nvidia fell 9.5%, losing $279bn (£212.9bn) in its stock market valuation.
Shares in other major U.S. tech companies, including Alphabet, Apple and Microsoft, also fell.
On Wednesday morning, Japan’s Nikkei stock average was down 3.3%, South Korea’s KOSPI was down 2.7% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.7%.
Share prices of major Asian technology companies, including TSMC, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Tokyo Electron, fell sharply.
“Concerns over global economic growth appear to be hitting exporters in the region particularly hard,” Lee added.
The highly anticipated U.S. nonfarm payrolls job market report is due to be released on Friday.
Investors will be closely watching these figures for clues as to how much the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates when it meets next week.
