US stocks suffer biggest one-day drop since April 2025

US stocks ended Thursday sharply lower, recording their biggest one-day decline in 19 months as technology shares retreated, Anadolu Agency reported.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,834.84 points, or 3.44%, to 51,521.28.
• The S&P 500 dropped 334.82 points, or 4.35%, to 7,353.80.
• The Nasdaq Composite lost 1,421.52 points, or 5.52%, to close at 24,315.00.

The Volatility Index, commonly known as the market’s “fear index,” climbed 61.89% to 26.89.

The decline was the steepest one-day fall for major US stock indexes since April 2025, when President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff announcements triggered turmoil in global markets.

Selling on Wall Street intensified as investors reassessed the high valuations of major technology companies following a series of corporate updates. Sentiment also weakened amid growing doubts about when heavy corporate spending on artificial intelligence would generate meaningful profits.

Elevated Treasury bond yields continued to weigh on equities by raising borrowing costs and offering investors attractive risk-free returns. Profit-taking across industrial and consumer sectors added to the decline after a recent run of gains.

Uncertainty over the future path of central bank interest rate cuts kept traders cautious and dampened demand to buy shares at lower prices toward the close.

Following the Democrats’ victory in the US midterm elections, energy prices fell significantly late Wednesday and early Thursday. Brent crude stood at $98.40 a barrel as of 2100 GMT, after trading above $110 earlier in the week.

Gold rose 0.6% to $4,080 an ounce.

The number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 6,000 to 189,000 last week, below expectations, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.

European markets mostly close lower

European stock markets mostly ended Thursday lower, with the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 down 0.38% at 654.87 points.

• Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.43% to 10,782.66.
• Germany’s DAX 40 declined 0.43% to 26,325.01.
• France’s CAC 40 rose 0.34% to 8,205.37.
• Italy’s FTSE MIB lost 1.03% to close at 50,505.87.
• Spain’s IBEX 35 gained 0.59% to close at 19,486.00.