{"text":[[{"start":7.8,"text":"US tech stocks dropped sharply on Wednesday as Wall Street was hit with a fresh jolt of volatility ahead of SpaceX’s historic market debut. "}],[{"start":16,"text":"The Nasdaq Composite dropped 2 per cent in a sell-off that accelerated late in Wednesday’s trading session. The blue-chip S&P 500 fell 1.6 per cent. "}],[{"start":26.55,"text":"Wednesday’s drop is the latest sign of how investors are growing increasingly nervous about the scale of the rally in shares of companies linked to the AI boom over the past year. It also comes as Wall Street is preparing for a historic deluge of stock, with SpaceX set to raise as much as $86bn in its initial public offering on Thursday evening. SpaceX shares will open for trading on the Nasdaq on Friday. "}],[{"start":52.1,"text":"“The backdrop for SpaceX is turning ugly,” said one London-based equity capital markets trader. "}],[{"start":58.050000000000004,"text":"Google has also this month launched an $85bn share sale, while Meta is contemplating a large deal, the FT reported last week. ChatGPT maker OpenAI and Claude creator Anthropic are also working on huge IPOs. "}],[{"start":73,"text":"Super Micro Computer tumbled almost 30 per cent on Wednesday after it announced plans late the previous day for a $7bn share sale. "}],[{"start":81.85,"text":"Memory maker Marvell Technology fell 5 per cent, while chipmaker Micron dropped 4.7 per cent."}],[{"start":89.89999999999999,"text":"Shares in economically sensitive companies also fell after fresh data showed US inflation rose to a three-year high of 4.2 per cent in May as Donald Trump’s war in Iran has sent fuel prices surging. Trump also prompted worries in markets by warning that the US was preparing to hit Iran “hard” again following an exchange of fire by the two adversaries. "}],[{"start":111.79999999999998,"text":"Caterpillar, the heavy machinery giant, was down 6.4 per cent on Wednesday, while airlines Delta and United fell about 6 per cent."}],[{"start":121.04999999999998,"text":"“The carefree days for the longs are gone for the foreseeable future,” said Mike Zigmont at Visdom Investment Group."}],[{"start":128.45,"text":"Trump’s comments pushed oil prices higher, with Brent crude, the international benchmark, settling 1.8 per cent at $93.10 a barrel. US marker West Texas Intermediate rose 2.1 per cent to $90.03. "}],[{"start":144.89999999999998,"text":"The cross-currents in markets have pushed measures of volatility higher. The Vix index, often called Wall Street’s “fear gauge”, climbed 2.4 points on Wednesday to 22.20, above its long-term average of 20. "}],[{"start":159.34999999999997,"text":"Investors have also been cranking up bets against US stocks, with bearish positions on S&P 500 futures rising last week to the highest level since September, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission."}],[{"start":179.54999999999998,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1781139748_3078.mp3"}