[Yonhap]
[Yonhap]

US stocks opened lower Monday as a broad selloff swept through technology shares, driven by concerns over the heavy investment costs facing AI companies and growing wariness about the possibility of further Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell more than 2% shortly after the opening bell. Alphabet, Nvidia, Oracle and Tesla all tumbled sharply, extending a weakness in large-cap technology stocks that began the previous day.

Semiconductor stocks were also caught in the downdraft. Micron Technology plunged more than 11% in early trading. Market participants attributed the moves to profit-taking after a recent technology rally, with concerns mounting over the cost burden of aggressive AI investment and the prospect of future rate hikes.

The S&P 500 fell 1.3% at the same time, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 363 points, or 0.4%.

Oil prices also weakened. The United States said it would grant a two-month waiver on long-term sanctions targeting Iranian crude sales, raising the prospect of progress in US-Iran negotiations. Brent crude futures traded below $78 a barrel.


rainbow@heraldcorp.com