Rate Hike Jitters: Tech Stocks Lead Market Sell-Off Amid Strong Labor Data
Wall Street’s nine-week winning streak ended with a thud on Friday, as red-hot technology stocks suffered their largest daily decline since April, 2025 after a hot May jobs report fuelled fears of a hawkish policy pivot from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Selling was concentrated among chip stocks and other technology favorites that have surged higher in recent weeks as the Nasdaq Composite Index and S&P 500 rose repeatedly to fresh highs.
All three major U.S. stock indexes closed sharply lower, with plunging chip stocks dragging the tech-laden Nasdaq down by its largest one-day percentage loss since April, 2025. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index suffered its largest one-day percentage plunge since March, 2020, erasing more than US$1-trillion in stock market value.
The S&P 500 ended its nine-week run of Friday-to-Friday gains, its longest weekly winning streak since one that ended in December, 2023.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index came right along for the ride, closing down 2.28 per cent, as Canada also released a surprisingly strong jobs report. The TSX tech sector lost about 5 per cent. Gold and oil prices were both down sharply, further dampening any buying interest for Canadian stocks.
“After the record run we’ve seen the last nine weeks in equities, specifically tech and semiconductors, the dam just broke today,” said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group in Omaha. “Obviously, the stronger-than-expected jobs report puts the Fed in a tough spot regarding any interest rate cut for the rest of the year. And the market is throwing a fit by hitting the big winners so far this year.”
Rising interest rates and the Iran war weighed on sentiment heading into the weekend, but many investors said they expected tech stocks to continue rallying.
“The market reaction today was more driven by positioning rather than fundamentals,” said Ohsung Kwon, chief equity strategist at Wells Fargo. “The semiconductor sector was way overbought. That’s why we’re seeing the selloff. I don’t think it’s the end of the semi bull market.”
The U.S. economy added 172,000 jobs in May, according to the Labor Department, more than double analyst expectations, while the unemployment rate held firm at 4.3 per cent. The robust report was double-edged: it provided reassurance of U.S. economic health, but all but killed any hopes of an interest rate cut from the Fed in the near future.
Financial markets are pricing in a 42.7 per cent likelihood of a rate hike at the conclusion of the Fed’s December meeting, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
U.S. Treasury yields surged following the report, with the yield on the 2-year note, which typically moves in step with Fed rate expectations, hitting a 15-month high. It was at 4.147 per cent by late afternoon.
Canadian bond yields were also up sharply for the session. Canada’s employment report showed the economy adding 87,800 jobs last month, wiping out much of the declines posted since the start of the year.
Investors are now pricing in roughly 40 basis points of interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada through the end of the year, up from 34 basis points before the data. Economists aren’t so convinced: a Reuters poll released Friday showed they expect no change in rates this year, including at a policy decision next Wednesday.
Fading hopes for a near-term resolution to the Middle East war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz are stirring fears that energy price pressures could morph into wider, systemic inflation. Iran reaffirmed its support for Hezbollah and demanded that Israel withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon, further complicating efforts to secure a near-term peace deal that would include the resumption of traffic through the crucial strait. U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has negotiated three truces, and while fighting has been greatly reduced, the two sides continue to trade airstrikes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 695.15 points, or 1.35 per cent, to 50,866.78, the S&P 500 shed 200.57 points, or 2.64 per cent, to 7,383.74 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1,121.53 points, or 4.18 per cent, to 25,709.43.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended down 803.61 points at 34,413.45, pulling back from a record closing high on Thursday and marking its biggest decline since Feb. 12. For the week, the index was down 1 per cent.
The materials group in Toronto, which includes metal mining shares, tumbled 8.3 per cent. Gold lost 3.2 per cent, copper was down 4 per cent, while the price of oil settled 2.7 per cent lower at US$90.54.
The TSX energy sector was down 4.1 per cent in Toronto. Helping to cap the TSX’s losses, the consumer staples sector rose 2.8 per cent.
Among the 11 S&P 500 sectors, tech plunged 5.8 per cent, while consumer staples led the percentage gainers.
Nvidia, the largest company by market value, lost 6.2 per cent, while Intel, Micron, AMD and Broadcom slid between 7.9 per cent and 13.3 per cent.
Lululemon Athletica slumped 8.6% after the athletic apparel maker cut its annual profit forecast and projected second-quarter earnings well below Wall Street estimates.
Cryptocurrency firms Coinbase and Strategy fell 7.1 per cent and 6.9 per cent, respectively, weighed by bitcoin’s 4.1-per-cent drop.
S&P Global said it would not change the eligibility requirements for its major indices, which effectively rules out a swift entry for Elon Musk’s SpaceX to the benchmark S&P 500 after it goes public in what would be the world’s biggest initial public offering. S&P Dow Jones Indices will announce the results following its rebalancing after markets close. Chipmaker Marvell Technology, which boasts over US$270-billion in valuation, is among the contenders to be added to the benchmark index.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 3.14-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 132 new highs and 249 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 1,074 stocks rose and 3,737 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 3.48-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 14 new 52-week highs and three new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 83 new highs and 178 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 22.89 billion shares, compared with the 20.29 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
Reuters, Globe staff
This article was first reported by The Globe and Mail
