US stocks fell sharply in late trading on Wednesday, wiping out the last of this year’s gains on swelling concerns about a slowdown in the global economy and an inflection point for Corporate America’s profit machine.
Investors dumped shares of technology companies, which have led the market rally in recent years, sending the Nasdaq Composite index to its biggest loss in seven years and putting it on course for its worst month since the 2008 financial crisis.
“It’s super-ugly, and who knows when it will be over,” said Adam Sender, chief investment officer of Sender Company and Partners, an investment group. “I’m very defensively positioned.”