A Palantir sign at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on May 22, 2022.
Fabrice Coffrini | Afp | Getty Images
If you have any U.S. technology stocks in your portfolio (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?), you might want to look away.
For the second day in a row, tech stocks dragged markets lower, with the Nasdaq Composite slipping 0.67%. Juggernauts such as Apple, Amazon and Alphabet were more meh-nificent than magnificent, falling more than 1%.
Palantir — the standout S&P 500 stock, having more than doubled so far this year — had its sixth consecutive day in the red and lost its place among a ranking of the 20 most valuable U.S. companies.
While Palantir’s slide was partly triggered by a report from short seller Andrew Left’s Citron Research, which called the company “detached from fundamentals and analysis,” there was no single trigger for the broader pullback.
Investors could have been spooked by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s caution about an AI bubble forming, although some analysts dispute that assertion. “In our view the tech bull cycle will be well intact at least for another 2-3 years,” said Wall Street tech bull Dan Ives.
Or it could be something benign, like traders locking in profits. “Tech stocks,” said Carol Schleif, chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth, “have had an incredibly strong run – with some up over 80% since the early April lows.”
Summer, after all, is far from over. Some investors might have just wanted to cash out for another round of margaritas.
What you need to know today
And finally…
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for a press conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Aug. 15, 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
Red carpet for Putin, trade relief for China, penalties on India: Inside Trump’s peculiar policy playbook
U.S. President Donald Trump is pursuing an unusual strategy — courting Russian President Vladimir Putin, holding fire on Beijing, all the while turning the screws on India.
Despite India being one of the earliest nations to engage in negotiations with the Trump administration, there is still no sign of it sealing a deal with America. New Delhi is now also staring at a secondary tariff of 25% or a “penalty” for its purchases of Russian oil that is set to come into effect later this month.
— Anniek Bao