Nasdaq Drops 3.23%, Tech Stocks Pressured by Iran War Concerns

US technology stocks faced heavy pressure throughout this week. The Nasdaq Composite technology index recorded its deepest weekly drop since April 2025, triggered by concerns over the Iran conflict and legal pressures on major technology companies. Over the week, the Nasdaq plunged 3.23%. The last sharp decline occurred in April 2025, when markets were volatile due to threats of broad tariffs from President Donald Trump. Pressure was widespread in the technology sector. Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., fell nearly 9%, while Microsoft weakened by around 7%. Meta Platforms shares were the most affected. The company led by Mark Zuckerberg dropped more than 11% after losing two separate legal cases in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Los Angeles. Both rulings highlighted Meta’s challenges in overseeing content on Facebook and Instagram. These two platforms remain the company’s primary revenue sources, amid fierce competition in artificial intelligence with Alphabet, OpenAI, and Anthropic. However, Micron’s performance was remarkably solid. In its second-quarter report, the company’s revenue surged nearly threefold to $23.86 billion. The company also projected a gross margin of around 80% for the next quarter. “Current memory supply is very tight and not easy to increase, and that is reflected in our results,” said Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, quoted from CNBC. Nevertheless, this positive performance has not yet alleviated market concerns. Investors tend to reduce exposure to technology stocks amid rising energy costs and uncertainty from the Middle East conflict. In a post on Truth Social, Trump signalled efforts to end the conflict with Iran, as rising energy prices burden market sentiment and could become a political issue ahead of the US midterm elections. Looking ahead, market participants’ attention will focus on Elon Musk’s moves. His space company, SpaceX, valued at around $1.25 trillion after merging with xAI, is said to be preparing to list on the stock exchange through an IPO that could be one of the largest in history. Meanwhile, Tesla is scheduled to release its quarterly vehicle delivery report next week.