A tough couple of weeks for tech stocks have investors weighing whether a more than two-year rally is running out of steam. Triggered by a whistleblower’s revelation that Facebook had improperly channeled user data to political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, which was hired by Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, the rout has shaved nearly $400 billion (U.S.) from the market value of the so-called FANG stocks, Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google. On Tuesday, a group that includes FANG stocks and six other large-cap tech shares fell 6.3 per cent per cent, the biggest decline since September 2014 after reports that Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg would testify before Congress about the user data scandal. Facebook rose by $6.76 to $159.79 Thursday as tech shares led a broader market rebound that saw the Dow gain more than 250 points while the S&P 500 rose 1.4 per cent and the Nasdaq 100 Index advanced by 1.9 per cent. The S&P 500 is off more than 2 per cent this year and is nearly 10 per cent below the high of 2872.87 reached on Jan. 26.

Source: thestar March 30, 2018 15:00 UTC