Tech Stocks Drag Down US Markets

Wall Street has closed lower, with big drops in technology shares weighing on markets.

The Dow Jones fell 1.4 percent to 23,857. The the S&P 500 lost 1.7 percent 2,612 while the tech-rich Nasdaq dropped 2.9 percent to 7,008.

Analysts pointed to a cascade of negative stories surrounding leading technology firms, including Facebook, Tesla Motors and Twitter.

"You've got large cap tech that led this downdraft," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities.

"Once this market starts in a direction like this, you're not going to see anybody step in and catch a falling knife."

Tuesday's losses set the market back on the red after Monday's brief surge.

Stocks also fell sharply on Thursday and Friday on worries about President Donald Trump's trade policies, but those fears have receded somewhat in the last couple of days. (AFP)