- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
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Tech stocks tumble on Nvidia rout, weak US data
Tech firms led a plunge across equity markets Wednesday after a rout on Wall Street fuelled by a collapse in chip titan Nvidia and disappointing data on US factory activity that revived recession fears and pushed the dollar lower.
The sight of investors running to the hills sparked memories of the brief but tumultuous sell-off at the start of August that was partly fuelled by a big miss on US jobs creation.
All three leading indexes in New York ended sharply lower Tuesday, with the Nasdaq the main casualty -- diving more than three percent -- as traders dumped big-name tech firms including Apple, Alphabet and Amazon.
But the biggest loser was AI chip leader Nvidia, shedding almost $280 billion of its value, on fears that the surge in firms linked to artificial intelligence may have run too far.
"When risk reduction takes hold, the most crowded trades tend to bear the brunt, and that's precisely what we saw in Nvidia, which tumbled 9.5 percent as global growth jitters intensified," noted independent analyst Stephen Innes.
Adding to the pain, it emerged after Wall Street closed that US authorities had issued Nvidia and other firms subpoenas as it probes claims they violated antitrust laws.
The selling filtered through to Asia, where tech and chip firms took the brunt of it. Europe, with a smaller number of major tech firms, saw smaller losses across its main indices.
In Japan, Advantest stock plunged 7.7 percent and Tokyo Electron more than eight percent, while Sony lost three percent.
TSMC shed more than five percent in Taipei, with SK hynix dumping eight percent in Seoul and Samsung more than three percent off.
Tokyo and Taipei each dived more than four percent overall, while Seoul was 3.2 percent lower.
Elsewhere, oil prices rebounded slightly after Tuesday's heavy selling sparked by demand worries linked to a weak Chinese economy and questions over the US outlook, while OPEC's consideration of output hikes added to the pain, analysts said.
Worries about the US economy burst back onto the scene after figures showed a marginal improvement in factory activity in August but it still remained in contraction for a fifth successive month.
The figures come days before a closely watched report on non-farm payrolls, which could have a big impact on Federal Reserve officials' decision-making going into next week's policy meeting.
The bank is expected to cut interest rates but the debate surrounds how big it will go, with most tipping a 25-basis-point reduction but a below-forecast reading seen boosting the chances of a 50-point move.
- Key figures around 1030 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 8,248.57 points
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.9 percent at 7,505.94
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.7 percent at 18,617.28
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.1 percent at 4,859.14
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 4.2 percent at 37,047.61 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 17,457.34 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 2,784.28 (close)
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.5 percent at 40,936.93 (close)
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 145.11 yen from 145.46 yen on Tuesday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1055 from $1.1047
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3118 from $1.3111
Euro/pound: UP at 84.29 pence from 84.17 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.4 percent at $74.02 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.1 percent at $71.09 per barrel
L.Durand--AMWN