Global Markets Sink as Tech Sell-Off Deepens and China’s Economic Troubles Intensify

Global stock markets tumbled on Friday as a sharp downturn in major technology shares and renewed concerns about China’s slowing economy triggered widespread investor anxiety. The decline began in the United States, where leading tech giants suffered one of their steepest drops in weeks, and quickly cascaded across Asia and Australia, signalling a broad shift toward risk aversion.

Wall Street’s slide was led by losses in the high-valuation artificial intelligence and semiconductor sectors. A major stake sale by a prominent tech investor added to mounting fears that the sector’s rapid rise may have outpaced fundamentals. This triggered a wave of selling that wiped billions off market value and prompted investors to reassess the sustainability of the recent tech boom.

Asian markets opened sharply lower in response. Japan’s benchmark index fell nearly 2%, South Korea’s market saw an even steeper decline, and major indices in Australia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong also registered significant losses. Analysts noted that the speed at which the sell-off spread underscored the global sensitivity toward volatility in the US tech sector.

Adding to the financial unease were worrying new economic numbers from China. Fresh data showed a continued slump in fixed-asset investment, marking one of the weakest performances in years. The sharp contraction raised fresh doubts about Beijing’s ability to revive domestic demand and stabilise the property sector. Chinese stocks fell accordingly, deepening the global downturn.

Investors were further unsettled by uncertainty surrounding the US economic outlook. An ongoing government shutdown has delayed key economic reports, complicating expectations around future interest-rate decisions. Recent cautious comments from Federal Reserve officials have dampened hopes of an early rate cut, a development that typically weighs on growth-oriented sectors like technology.

Market strategists described the week as one marked by heightened volatility, driven by a combination of overstretched valuations, weaker-than-expected economic signals from China, and policy ambiguity in the United States. While the brunt of the slump was felt in technology stocks, the broader market reaction suggests deeper concerns about global growth.

With traders increasingly shifting toward safer assets, attention is now turning to upcoming economic indicators and central bank guidance. Whether the current downturn stabilises or evolves into a more prolonged correction will depend on how these underlying pressures unfold in the coming weeks.