Tech Stocks Continue to Batter the Market

The market's recent theme resumed in full force on Thursday as poor-performing tech stocks dragged down the rest of the market. The tech-dominated Nasdaq fell 381 points, or 2.5%, to 14,806, leading the other major indexes into the red as well. The Dow fell 176 points, or 0.4%, to 36,113, and the benchmark S&P 500 fell 67 points, or 1.4%, to 4,659. The Wall Street Journal offers a quick primer on why the tech sector is suffering: "Technology stocks have come under pressure in the new year as government-bond yields have risen. Higher yields can reduce the appeal of the future earnings promised by many tech stocks."

On Thursday, big-name companies such as Apple (down 1.5% in afternoon trading) and Microsoft (down 3.8%) contributed to the decline. Nasdaq's poor performance came after a three-day rally that had raised investors' hopes, notes CNBC. “It is a little bit of a confusing narrative for the first two weeks of this year,” Scott Ladner, chief investment officer at Horizon Investments, tells the AP. “The market is really coming to grips with selling really highly valued, profitless tech names and finding other places to put money.” (More stock market stories.)