Nasdaq Set for Another 2% Drop as Tech Rout Deepens on Fresh Rate-Hike Concerns

Nasdaq Composite futures point to another sharp leg lower, with the index on track for an almost 2% decline as a month-long tech selloff shows little sign of easing. What began as weakness centered on semiconductor names has broadened into a wider reset in how much investors are willing to pay for growth, as markets reconsider the path of interest rates. The move is no longer being treated as a one-day shock. The Nasdaq slid 4.1% on June 5—its steepest single-session fall since April 2025—and selling pressure has built since. In that session, Intel sank 11%, Oracle lost 9.5%, and Nvidia fell nearly 6%. Traders are increasingly focused on the possibility of Federal Reserve rate hikes later in 2026. Comments from new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh have been read as more hawkish, adding to the pressure on rate-sensitive sectors. Higher yields typically weigh on long-duration growth stocks because a higher risk-free rate reduces the present value of future earnings. With tech valuations often anchored to profits expected years out, the group tends to absorb the biggest hit when rate expectations move up. Risk appetite has also cooled around high-profile listings. SpaceX shares fell for a third straight day on June 23, wiping out more than $600 billion of the market value it had added since its IPO. The risk-off mood has spilled into digital assets. Bitcoin slipped below $63,000 as the broader selloff in risk assets extended into crypto, underscoring the tight linkage between tech and cryptocurrencies during periods of market stress. Tokens tied to AI and semiconductor themes appear especially exposed, after many projects were priced on an assumption that the AI buildout would keep accelerating with cheap funding. Investors are now watching two key signals: whether Fed messaging turns more firmly hawkish in the coming weeks, reinforcing expectations for rate action and potentially prolonging the drawdown in tech and crypto; and whether heavyweights such as Nvidia and SpaceX begin to stabilize or see selling intensify, a swing factor that often separates a routine correction from a deeper downturn.