Dow Jones loses 500 points, S&P falls for fourth straight session

US stocks declined for the fourth consecutive session at the close of Nov. 18, as the technology sector came under pressure amid concerns over inflated company valuations, prompting investors to retreat from risk.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.07%, or 498 points, to 46,091 points.

Likewise, the S&P 500 Index dropped 0.83%, or 55 points, to 6,617 points, marking its fourth consecutive daily decline. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite retreated 1.2%, or 275 points, to 22,432 points.

As for the European indices, the STOXX Europe 600 declined 1.7% to 561.86 points, marking the deepest decline since August.

The German DAX 40 lost 1.75% to 23,180 points, and the French CAC 40 edged down 1.85% to 7,967 points, while the British FTSE 100 shed 1.25% to 9,552 points.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 plunged 3.2% to 48,702 points, marking its worst daily performance since April 9, while the broader Topix index dropped 2.9% to 3,251 points.

Futures contracts for Brent crude for December delivery climbed 1.07%, or 69 cents, to $64.89 per barrel.

Meanwhile, prices of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for November delivery edged up 1.39%, or 83 cents, settling at $60.74 per barrel.

As for gold, futures prices for the yellow metal for December delivery edged down 0.2%, or $8, to $4,066.5 per ounce.

Investors are awaiting the release of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes on Wednesday, ahead of the September nonfarm payrolls report due the following day, amid divided expectations over whether the Fed will move to cut interest rates at its December meeting.