Facebook Set to Drag Tech Stocks Lower

Thanks to a disappointing showing out of Facebook Inc. (FB) for its second quarter, technology stocks are poised for a big decline in trading Thursday as investors digest the news coming out of the world’s largest social media network operator.

The Invesco QQQ ETF, which tracks the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index, took a hit in after-hours action Wednesday. It dipped as much as 2% at one point and was lower by around 1.5% in pre-market trading Thursday. (See also: Facebook Stock Falls 24 Pct on Forecast for Slowing Growth, Rising Expenses)

Meanwhile, Facebook shares were 20% lower on Thursday morning, having plummeted to $ 172.38. This will be the stock’s largest decline ever if sustained, surpassing its 12% drop in July 2012.

It’s not just Facebook that is expected to feel the pain when markets open. Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), which reports quarterly earnings after the close of trading, was down 1.7% in pre-market trading, while Apple Inc. (AAPL) was down 0.73% and Alphabet’s (GOOG) Google was 1.8% lower. Meanwhile, Netflix Inc. (NFLX) was off 1.9%, and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) was trading down 0.75%.

Nasdaq futures were down 0.89% or 66.50 points at 7,403. (See more: How to Hedge a Plunge in the FAANG Stocks)

Facebook’s Declining Rev Growth Spooks Investors

After the closing bell Wednesday, Facebook reported active users for the quarter that were weaker-than-expected and warned revenue growth at the company would decline on a sequential basis during the second half of this year. The outlook for revenue growth to slow is what is believed to have concerned investors the most.

“Facebook’s outlook will cause worries on the Street and that could spread to other names with stock multiples coming under attack. Facebook’s nightmare guidance will spook tech investors with a near-term white-knuckle period ahead,” Daniel Ives, an analyst at GBH Insights, told CNBC.

“The core Facebook platform is declining,” said Brian Wieser, an analyst at Pivotal Research Group, according to Bloomberg.

The lower than expected results out of Facebook comes just days after Netflix’s results fell short of Wall Street expectations and tempered its subscriber guidance. For the second quarter, Netflix said it had new subscribers of 5.15 million, which was lower than the 6.34 million Wall Street was looking for. It is the first time it missed on subscriber numbers in five quarters. For the third quarter, Netflix said it expects to add 5 million subscribers, lower than the 6 million the Street expected. (See more: Without Facebook, Instagram Valued at $100 Billion.)

Source: Read Full Article