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Tech Backlash. The major indexes fell sharply Friday, closing out a fifth consecutive week of declines. Outside of the energy sector, there was little place to hide. Tech stocks continued to get hit hard, thanks to a combination of AI fears, regulatory worries, and supply-chain concerns, all as rising oil prices stoke inflation fears. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.1% on the day for a weekly loss of 3.2%. It was the tech-heavy index’s worst week in nearly a year. |
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After years of largely ignoring cultural and regulatory issues, tech investors seem to be newly worried about a growing backlash to social-media companies. Multiple court rulings from New Mexico and California this week highlighted the risks to the firms. |
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The verdict in California was different than previous legal tests, according to TD Cowen analyst John Blackledge. “Unlike past cases that rested on Section 230’s legal shield for content distribution platforms, the plaintiff’s arguments were focused on app design, not content,” Blackledge wrote. “The plaintiff’s attorneys argued that features like algorithmic recommendations and infinite scroll make the apps addictive and lead to mental harm.” |
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Shares of Facebook and Instagram-parent Meta Platforms finished the week down 11.4%, erasing $172 billion of market value. The selloff came just as the company set an aggressive $9 trillion-plus market value target as part of its options grants to senior executives. |
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“A stock overhang could persist as these matters are resolved in coming years,” Blackledge added. |
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Elsewhere in markets, consumer discretionary stocks took a beating, with the sector falling more than 3% on the day. It didn’t help that consumer confidence, as tracked by the University of Michigan, came in lower than expected. |
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“Consumers are growingly increasingly concerned about the economic impacts of the Iran war but still expect the conflict to be short-lived,” my colleague Megan Leonhardt reports: |
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The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to a reading of 53.3 in the last days of March from February’s 56.6, according to final results released Friday. Previously, the index measured 55.5 at the start of March. Economists polled by FactSet were expecting the index to read 54.2.
“Consumer sentiment pulled back in late March as households feel the heat from much higher gasoline prices, lower stock prices and spiking uncertainty,” writes Oren Klachkin, financial market economist for Nationwide. |
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Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, was up 4.2% on Friday, to $112.57 a barrel. The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gas is now $3.98, according to AAA, up from $2.98 one month ago. |
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Watch our TV show on Fox Business Saturday or Sunday at 10:30 a.m. ET. This week, Charles Schwab’s Liz Ann Sonders on the Iran conflict’s reverberations across markets and its implications for the Fed. Plus, is this a Big Tobacco moment for Meta? |
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| - | Last | Chg% |
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↓ Dow Jones Industrial Average | 45,166.64 | -1.73% | ↓ S&P 500 Index | 6,368.85 | -1.67% | ↓ NASDAQ Composite Index | 20,948.36 | -2.15% |
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3/27/2026, 8:00:21 PM ET |
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The Hot Stock: Entergy +6.8%
The Biggest Loser: Datadog -7.9% |
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Best Sector: Energy +1.9%
Worst Sector: Consumer Discretionary -3.1% |
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