Wall Street Woes: Semiconductor Selloff Spurs Fed Rate Hike Fears

Wall Street saw a significant decline on Friday, with semiconductor stocks leading the downturn. A strong U.S. employment report heightened concerns of an impending Federal Reserve interest rate hike. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed with substantial losses, while the Dow showed a marginal gain.

Wall Street's major indexes took a significant hit on Friday, driven primarily by a sharp selloff in the semiconductor sector. This downturn comes as a robust employment report heightened fears that the Federal Reserve might soon pivot to a more hawkish monetary policy.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed down 3.1%, the largest single-day drop since October 10, with a notable 8.1% plunge in chip stocks. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 was on track to end a nine-week streak of gains, suffering substantial losses over recent trading sessions.

The strong job numbers from the Labor Department deepened uncertainty over interest rates, suggesting the Fed's next move could be a rate hike. This possibility, along with ongoing geopolitical tensions impacting energy markets, added to market volatility, putting further pressure on stocks.