Damn! The US stock market is back in the trap

<p>&nbsp;Investors seem to be starting to take precautions ahead of Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell's speech tonight.</p><p><br /></p><p>The impact can be seen in the massive sell-off in the US stock market, led by technology stocks after a strong performance this week.</p><p><br /></p><p>Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), which plunged 7%, became the biggest loser in the Nasdaq index, thus dragging Nvidia to also retreat from the highest level reached at the beginning of the New York session.</p><p><br /></p><p>Nvidia shares soared on Wednesday after it reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings, raised its growth forecast for the current quarter and bought back $25 billion in shares.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Meanwhile, the Nasdaq plunged 2.19% to 14,816.44, while the Dow Jones Industrial index fell 1.08% to 34,099.43 and the S&amp;P 500 fell 1.35% to 4,376.32.</p><p><br /></p><p>The decline was attributed to profit-taking by investors ahead of Jerome Powell's speech tonight which is expected to trigger major volatility in financial markets.</p><p><br /></p><p>Investors will be scrutinizing Powell's speech for clues on the outlook for US interest rates next.</p><p><br /></p><p>Meanwhile, Disney shares closed at a nearly nine-year low of 3.9%, with some investors expecting further declines in the coming months.</p>