Investors seem to be starting to take precautions ahead of Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell's speech tonight.
The impact can be seen in the massive sell-off in the US stock market, led by technology stocks after a strong performance this week.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), which plunged 7%, became the biggest loser in the Nasdaq index, thus dragging Nvidia to also retreat from the highest level reached at the beginning of the New York session.
Nvidia shares soared on Wednesday after it reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings, raised its growth forecast for the current quarter and bought back $25 billion in shares.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq plunged 2.19% to 14,816.44, while the Dow Jones Industrial index fell 1.08% to 34,099.43 and the S&P 500 fell 1.35% to 4,376.32.
The decline was attributed to profit-taking by investors ahead of Jerome Powell's speech tonight which is expected to trigger major volatility in financial markets.
Investors will be scrutinizing Powell's speech for clues on the outlook for US interest rates next.
Meanwhile, Disney shares closed at a nearly nine-year low of 3.9%, with some investors expecting further declines in the coming months.
