The hit that FANG lovers are taking today may feel more painful than it looks.
While the 3.7 percent drop in an index tracking Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google was the biggest in 21 months, the amount of lost money exceeded any other single day on record. At about $60 billion, the decline in their combined market value is poised to eclipse any since Facebook arrived in public markets.
The record wipeout is a function of how big these companies have become this year after a rally that through Tuesday had more than tripled the market. The FANG block slumped Wednesday as speculation over U.S. tax reform prompted traders to rotate out of 2017’s best performers and flock to firms seen benefiting most from a potential reduction in the corporate tax rate such as banks.
Tech companies are expected to see little boost, as the industry’s average effective tax rate of 18.5 percent is already lower than the new level of 20 percent proposed by Republicans.
