Share prices in Asian and US markets have tumbled as concerns grow that the world’s largest economy could be headed towards a recession.
Data showed US manufacturing activity remains subdued, with investors now focussed now on key jobs figures due on Friday.
American chip giant Nvidia was hit particularly hard, slumping by almost 10% as optimism about the boom in artificial intelligence (AI) dampened.
The news came after the US government sent subpoenas to Nvidia and other companies as part of its AI probe.
“Growth concerns are dominating market moves,” Julia Lee at FTSE Russell told the BBC.
Nasdaq-listed Nvidia fell by 9.5%, wiping $279bn (£212.9bn) off its stock market valuation.
Other US tech giants — including Alphabet, Apple and Microsoft — also saw their shares tumble.
“Concerns around global growth look to be hitting exporting countries in the region particularly hard,” Ms Lee added.
The highly-anticipated US non-farm payrolls jobs market report is due to be released on Friday.
She also said it could a matter of “expectations catching up with reality” for the AI giant.
As worries that the largest economy in the world may be entering a recession have grown, share prices in Asian and US markets have plummeted.
US manufacturing activity was found to be muted, and investors are now concentrating on the important jobs data that is expected on Friday.
The massive American chip company Nvidia took a particularly severe hit, plunging nearly 10% as expectations for the artificial intelligence (AI) boom cooled.
The announcement followed the US government’s subpoenas to Nvidia and other businesses for their AI investigation.
FTSE Russell’s Julia Lee told the BBC that “growth concerns are dominating market moves.”.
Tuesday saw significant losses on the technology-heavy Nasdaq and a more than 2 percent decline in the SandP 500 index in New York.
The stock market value of Nvidia, a company listed on the Nasdaq, dropped by 90.5 percent, or $279 billion (£212 point 9 billion).
Shares of other US tech giants, such as Microsoft, Apple, and Alphabet, also fell.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan was down 4 points 4 percent on Wednesday morning, the Kospi in South Korea was down 3 percent, and the Hong Kong Hang Seng was down 1 points 3 percent.
There was a significant decline in major Asian technology companies such as SK Hynix, Tokyo Electron, Samsung Electronics, and TSMC.
“Exporting nations in the region appear to be particularly hard hit by concerns about global growth,” Ms. Lee continued.
On Friday, the much-awaited US non-farm payrolls jobs market report is expected to be made public.
When officials convene next week, investors will be closely observing those numbers for any indications regarding the extent of the US Federal Reserve’s impending interest rate cut.
According to Swetha Ramachandran, fund manager at London’s Artemis Investment Management, Nvidia’s share price decline could also be a response to the US Department of Justice’s demand that the company provide testimony on antitrust-related matters.
She added that it might just be a case of “expectations catching up with reality” for the industry leader in AI.
After delivering 122 percent growth in the second quarter, [Nvidia] did report results last week, hinting at a normal and anticipated slowdown in growth. It now anticipates delivering 80 percent growth in the third quarter. “.
She continued by saying that it was probably because investors lost faith in the Federal Reserve’s ability to lower interest rates that US indexes were declining.
