Microchip designer Nvidia’s (NVDA) stock fell 9.5% on the first trading day of September, erasing $279 billion U.S. from the company’s market capitalization.
It was the biggest one-day market capitalization drop for a U.S. stock in history.
The selloff, which saw the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lose more than 600 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index fall 3%, was sparked by concerns over the U.S. economy.
The latest economic data showed that manufacturing in the U.S. continues to slow, a worrisome sign for the overall economy and reviving recession fears on Wall Street.
Nvidia led the market lower with a decline of nearly 10% on the day and a record market cap loss of almost $300 billion U.S.
The previous record for one-day market cap loss was held by Facebook-parent Meta Platforms (META), which lost $232 billion U.S. in market value in a single day in February 2022.
Nvidia stock continued declining in after hours trading and is down a further 2% in premarket trading today (Sept. 4).
After markets closed, media reports surfaced that the U.S. Department of Justice has issued a subpoena to Nvidia as part of an antitrust investigation, further pressuring the stock.
Other semiconductor stocks in the U.S. and abroad also declined along with Nvidia.
Advanced Micro Devices’ (AMD) stock fell 8%, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) saw its share price decline more than 5%.
In Europe, shares of ASML, which makes equipment used to manufacture advanced microchips and processors, dropped 5% in early trading activity.
Despite the current pullback, Nvidia’s stock is still up 124% on the year and trading at $108 U.S. following a 10-for-1 stock split executed in June.
Nvidia continues to be the best-performing stock this year in the benchmark S&P 500 index.
