Nasdaq Index Drops 1.35%
Tesla Down 8%, Palantir Plunges 30% from Peak
Bitcoin Returns to $80,000 Range After Three Months
Concerns about inflation triggered by the tariff policies pushed by U.S. President Donald Trump have been confirmed by economic indicators, causing even the large tech stocks that had been supporting the U.S. stock market to collapse helplessly. Bitcoin prices also returned to the $80,000 range for the first time in three months since mid-November last year.
On the 25th (local time) in the New York market, the Nasdaq index, which is centered on tech stocks, closed at 19,026.39, down 1.35% from the previous session. The S&P 500 index, which focuses on large-cap stocks, fell 0.47%, marking four consecutive days of decline. Only the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow Jones) closed up 0.37%.
This was due to the large declines in IT companies, including the "Magnificent 7" (the seven major U.S. tech stocks). Tesla fell more than 8%, while Amazon, Microsoft (MS), and Alphabet (Google's parent company) also showed weakness in the 1-2% range. Palantir, an "AI defense stock" that recorded the highest return on the S&P 500 last year, fell for five consecutive trading days, dropping about 30% from its all-time high of $125.41 recorded four trading days ago.
Bitcoin prices also fell below the $90,000 mark. According to the global market site CoinMarketCap, as of 9:41 a.m. on the 26th (Korean time), Bitcoin was trading at $88,186.24, down nearly 4% from the previous day. At one point, it even dropped to the $85,000 range. This is the first time in about three months since mid-November last year that Bitcoin prices have fallen below $90,000.
The contraction in risk asset investment sentiment was influenced by weak U.S. economic indicators. According to the private research organization, the U.S. Conference Board (CB), the U.S. Consumer Confidence Index for February was 98.3, down 7 points from January. This decline is the largest monthly drop since August 2021. Stephanie Gishard, Chief Economist at the Conference Board, noted, "U.S. consumers were pessimistic about business conditions and less optimistic about future income."
U.S. CNBC pointed out that the recent decline in indicators was due to the impact of President Trump's tariff threats. Amid the Federal Reserve (Fed) weighing options to either hold or cut interest rates, concerns about inflation triggered by tariff imposition have spread. U.S. Bloomberg News mentioned the "U.S. stock market bubble theory," diagnosing that economic concerns and inflation threats are putting pressure on the stock market.
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