Investing.com - A popular cohort of tech stocks came under pressure Monday as a rout in global markets and the recent surge in U.S. government bond yields prompted investors to rein in their appetite for risk.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), commonly known by the acronym FANG, traded lower hours before the close, dragging the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite down more than 1%.
The rout comes as investors weigh up the benefit of holding high-flying tech stocks ahead of earnings, particularly as the surge in U.S. government bond yields to multi-year highs last week has dampened investor appetite for risk.
Shares of Alphabet came under added selling pressure late afternoon, as investors digested a report suggesting the tech giant covered up a software glitch in its social media platform, Google+, which had exposed the data of hundreds of thousands of users.
Apple was well off its lows after Citigroup lifted its price target on the tech giant's stock to $265 from $230. Apple's push into original content, meanwhile, was boosted Monday amid reports the iPhone maker had entered into talks with BT Group (LON:BT) to boost its entry into pay TV.
Elsewhere in tech, semiconductor stocks were struggling after Raymond James warned there is more pain ahead in the sector.
"We are cutting estimates across much of the space. … Net, we think it's too early to call a bottom, despite what's now widespread bearish sentiment among investors," Raymond James said.