U.S. stock markets fell sharply on Thursday. The Dow closed at 48,909, down 1.2 percent. The technology‑heavy Nasdaq‑100 finished at 24,549, a decline of 1.4 percent, and the broader S&P 500 ended at 6,798, also 1.2 percent lower.
Cryptocurrencies saw panic sales, with Bitcoin slipping around 12 percent over the course of the day. Many investors, including individual traders, appear to be pulling out now to protect the large profits earned in recent years, even at a cost.
Amazon shares fell roughly 5 percent after the release of its quarterly results, despite meeting expectations. The company now derives most of its revenue from cloud services rather than online retail, and some market observers say that AI‑driven alternatives are increasingly attractive to customers.
The euro weakened overnight. One euro traded at $1.1780, while one dollar was worth 0.8489 euro.
Gold also slumped. At night a fine ounce sold for $4,804, down 3.2 percent. That translates to €131.12 per gram.
Brent crude oil prices dropped as well. Around 22:00 German time, a barrel of North Sea‑grade Brent was priced at $67.37-a 209‑cent, or 3 percent, decline from the previous day’s close.
