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Tech slump leads US stocks lower

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US stocks have finished lower with technology names tumbling the most after the market snubbed a Facebook acquisition announcement and King Digital’s first day of trade as a public company.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 98.89 (0.60 per cent) to 16,268.99.

The broad-based S&P 500 declined 13.06 (0.70 per cent) to 1,852.56, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sank 60.69 (1.43 per cent) to 4,173.58.

Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities, said some tech investors were sceptical after Facebook announced a $US2 billion ($A2.19 billion) deal to buy virtual reality company Oculus so soon after it announced a deal to buy WhatsApp for $US19 billion.

Facebook shares fell 6.9 per cent.

Investors also frowned on Candy Crush creator King Digital, which slumped 15.6 per cent on its first day of trade after raising $US500 million in an IPO. Shares closed at $US19, well below the IPO price of $US22.50.

King’s decline also depressed other videogame developers, including Zynga (-4.1 per cent) and Electronic Arts (-2.5 per cent).

“It’s been an ugly time for tech stocks over the last week or so,” James said.

The decline in tech names was fairly broad-based and included Google (-2.3 per cent), Amazon (-3.2 per cent) and Tesla Motors (-3.4 per cent.) An exception was software company Oracle, which rose 1.8 per cent.

Most of the companies in the Dow dropped. Exceptions were pharmaceuticals Merck (+1.5 per cent) and Pfizer (+1.1 per cent).

News Corp fell 1.9 per cent while 21st Century Fox dipped 1.1 per cent after global media titan Rupert Murdoch named his son Lachlan Murdoch as vice president of both firms, a possible sign of who will lead them when the father, 83, retires.

A report that Dish Network and DIRECTV could merge lifted both companies. Dish jumped 6.3 per cent, while DIRECTV rose 5.7 per cent.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.70 per cent from 2.73 per cent on Tuesday, while the 30-year declined to 3.55 per cent from 3.57 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.