Stocks tumble as tech, commodities trigger fears

U.S. stocks had their worst day in seven weeks Wednesday amid a broad decline in global equities as technology shares were roiled by disappointing results from Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. and copper sank into a bear market, weighing on commodities. Crude oil slipped below $65 a barrel following a report that American stockpiles rose the most since March 2017.

The S&P 500 Index declined for the fifth time in six sessions, while the Nasdaq 100 Index posted the weakest performance among major U.S. benchmarks. Strong retail sales figures did little to mollify investors, as Macy’s Inc. plummeted 16 percent, the most since May 2017, despite beating expectations. Tencent’s first profit decline in at least a decade also rattled emerging-market equities.

“Tech stocks are pulling the markets lower,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at TF Global Markets U.K. in London. “We are seeing investors becoming more concerned about the geopolitics.”

Tesla Inc. dropped more than 2.5 percent after a report that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sent a subpoena to the company regarding Elon Musk’s privatization plans and his comments about having secured funding.

Raw-materials producers dragged down European shares as copper and zinc sank to the lowest in more than a year. In Turkey, the lira gained after the country’s banking regulator moved to deter short-selling in the currency. While the nation’s assets stabilized, other emerging-market currencies continued to buckle as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intensified a diplomatic feud with U.S. President Donald Trump by issuing a series of new import tariffs.

With the bull market in American stocks just a week away from becoming the longest in history, investors have turned increasingly cautious amid lingering global trade tensions. Markets have been rocked over the past week as turmoil in Turkey weighed on sentiment across many emerging- and developed-nation assets. Qatar promised Wednesday to invest $15 billion in the Turkish economy to help the country avert a financial crisis.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong intervened to defend its peg to the dollar for the first time in three months after the local currency fell to the weak end of its trading band. Several markets, including Poland and India, were closed for a holiday.