Khaleejtimes: This is the latest in a string of poor quarterly results from some of the stock exchange's most widely-owned companies, and underscores deep worries

Over $200 billion in US stock market value went up in smoke in extended trade on Thursday, after a weak forecast from Amazon added to a string of downbeat quarterly reports from Big Tech companies.

Amazon's stock tumbled 17 per cent after the bell, wiping out $190 billion in market capitalisation, after the retail and technology heavyweight projected a holiday slump that would leave current-quarter sales below Wall Street estimates.

Also, after the bell, Apple's shares fell by about 1 per cent, erasing about $30 billion of its stock market value after the Californian company reported quarterly iPhone sales that fell short of Wall Street targets.

The latest in a string of poor quarterly results from some of Wall Street's most widely-owned companies underscores deep worries about the health of the global economy, as central banks raise interest rates in a battle against inflation.

"Big Tech companies are not impervious to slowdowns in the economy, particularly if they are consumer driven," said Rick Meckler, a partner at Cherry Lane Investments in New Vernon, New Jersey.

"As the Fed embarks on this planned slowdown, it is eating away at some of their consumer-faced businesses, and given their high multiples it is causing big contractions in their stock prices," Meckler added.

Amazon's weak report sent Nasdaq futures tumbling about 3 per cent, showing traders expect Wall Street to open with a deep decline on Friday. Google-owner Alphabet, and Microsoft dropped about 1 per cent each, adding to losses following their own poorly-received quarterly reports on Tuesday.

Thursday's late-day reports also followed disappointing results from Facebook-owner Meta Platforms that earlier sent its stock plummeting by 25 per cent. Thursday's drop left Meta's stock market value at about $260 billion, with the one-time behemoth now about the 20th most valuable company on Wall Street.

If Amazon's drop after hours is reflected in Friday's trading session, it will have been its deepest one-day loss since 2006.

Among a handful of winners late on Thursday, Pinterest surged 12 per cent after the social media platform reported higher than expected quarterly revenue, while Intel climbed 6 per cent, despite forecasting annual revenue below analysts' estimates.