Microsoft leads Wall Street slide with greater than £300bn wiped off the worth of the US tech titan

Microsoft led Wall Street lower last night as more than £300billion was wiped off the value of the US tech titan.

The software firm’s shares fell 12 per cent early on after latest results stoked fears its hefty investment in artificial intelligence was not translating into revenues and profits fast enough.

The slump wiped £312billion off its market cap – around the same as the value of AstraZeneca and Unilever combined – though it was still worth £2.3trillion.

The sell-off reverberated around Wall Street with the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropping 0.7 per cent and the S&P 500, which on Wednesday hit 7,000 for the first time, retreating towards 6,900.

Investors said firms are under pressure to show investment in AI is paying off. 

‘People have just been throwing money and now they’ve reached a certain level where they’re starting to look under the hood and see what’s really going on,’ said Max Wasserman, senior portfolio manager at Miramar Capital.

Crash: Shares in Microsoft  fell 12% in early trading after its latest results stoked fears its hefty investment in artificial intelligence was not translating into revenues and profits fast enough

Tesla reversed early gains after the electric‑vehicle maker outlined plans to more than double capital expenditures. 

But Facebook and WhatsApp owner Meta jumped 10 per cent, as it paired increased spending with an upbeat revenue forecast.