Australia is waking up to a grim scene after US stock markets tumbled overnight.
The S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX), plunged 3.56%, cancelling out Wednesday's euphoric gain.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ: .IXIC) was hit harder still. As most of Australia snored, it plummeted 4.99% in its worst session since June 2020. It's now at its lowest level since 2020.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) also suffered in Thursday's session overseas. It gave up more than 1,000 points, or 3.12%.
The US stock market's downturn could spell bad news for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) on Friday, particularly ASX 200 tech stocks, which often react to the Nasdaq's movements.
Here's what might have dinted the US stock market overnight.
US stock markets flop in Thursday's session
US stocks struggled overnight, with the nation's markets giving up Wednesday's notable gains.
The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and Dow Jones Industrial Average launched 2.9%, 3.2%, and 2.8% respectively on Wednesday, likely driven by positive sentiment out of the United States Federal Reserve.
The Federal Open Market Committee decided to increase interest rates by 0.5% to between 0.75% and 1% on Wednesday – its biggest increase in 22 years – in an effort to tackle inflation.
However, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell also commented that the entity wasn't "actively considering" hiking interest rates by another 0.75%.
Powell's confidence appeared to quell the market's nerves on Wednesday. However, concerns apparently reared their head once more in yesterday's (Aussie time) session.
Some US stock market favourites dragged on the NASDAQ-100 (NASDAQ: NDX) overnight.
The index slumped 5% driven by the likes of Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ: ABNB) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA). The stocks were among the Nasdaq-100's worst performers, both slumping 8%.
Meanwhile, the share price of eBay Inc (NASDAQ: EBAY) tumbled 11% on the back of the company's quarterly results.
Booking Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: BKNG) was one of only a few Nasdaq-100 stocks closing in the green on Thursday. It gained 3% on news demand for travel surged during the March quarter.
