US stock indices on Wednesday recorded their worst day in more than 18 months after lacklustre overnight results from index heavyweights Tesla and Alphabet deepened a technology sector sell-off. The blue-chip S&P 500 fell 2.3 per cent, its worst day since December 2022, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 3.6 per cent, its worst day since October 2022. The losses in both were driven by big tech stocks, including Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple and Tesla.
UBS on Wednesday reiterated its “sell” rating on Tesla’s stock, warning that the “timeframe and probability of success” of plans to roll out self-driving “robotaxis” remains unclear. On Tuesday, Tesla’s billionaire chief executive Elon Musk officially pushed back the unveiling of the vehicles from August to October. However, he claimed the project could still take the company’s valuation as high as $5tn — about six times its current market value.