Falling tech stocks and a plunge for bitcoin hit Wall Street

Sharp drops hit Wall Street on Thursday as technology stocks fell and bitcoin plunged again to roughly half its record price set last fall.

The S&P 500 fell 1.2 per cent for its sixth loss in the seven days since it set an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 592 points, or 1.2 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.6 per cent.

Qualcomm fell 8.5 per cent for one of the market’s bigger losses even though the chip company topped analysts’ expectations for profit and revenue in the latest quarter. Its forecast for profit in the current quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations as an industrywide shortage of memory pushes some handset makers to cut back on orders.

In the bond market, Treasury yields sank after a report said the number of U.S. workers applying for unemployment benefits jumped last week by more than economists expected. That could be a signal that the pace of layoffs is accelerating.

Some economists suggested last week’s rise could be statistical noise, and the total number remains relatively low compared with history. But a separate report said that layoffs announced by U.S.-based employers surged last month. The 108,435 was the highest number for a month since October, according to global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

For a January, it’s the worst since 2009 during the Great Recession.