The Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) share price has come under pressure yet again on Friday.
In morning trade, the payments giant's shares are down over 8% to a new ASX low of $80.64.
This latest decline means the Block share price is now down by over 54% since listing on the Australian share market in January.
Why is the Block share price tumbling today?
Investors have been selling down the Block share price today following a market selloff on Wall Street which has spread to the local market.
The selling was particularly severe on the Nasdaq index, which fell 4.1% during overnight trade.
And while Block's US-listed shares are actually listed on the NYSE, they often move in tow with the tech-heavy Nasdaq index.
It isn't just Block that is falling hard today. Also deep in the red are the likes of Altium Limited (ASX: ALU), WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC), and Xero Limited (ASX: XRO).
This has led to the S&P/ASX All Technology index following the Nasdaq's lead and dropping 3.5% in morning trade.
Why the selling?
Investors were selling equities on Wall Street on Thursday night amid fears that the US Federal Reserve's rate hike plans to tame inflation will cause a recession. This is despite the market rallying on the news just a day earlier.
Susan Schmidt of Aviva Investors summarised things well. She told CNBC:
Investor sentiment seems to only be able to focus on one thing at a time. Yesterday, the Fed delivered as people expected. It was combating the consumer price index data that was much higher than people expected and raised concerns about inflation being so aggressive. Investors are now remembering that the counter to this is a slowing of the economy.
