Wall Street tumbled as tech stocks and bitcoin plunged, amid rising jobless claims and falling job openings, sparking rate-cut speculation.

Wall Street declined sharply amid a tech sell-off and a major drop in bitcoin, which fell to about half its October peak, contributing to a broader market slump. The S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq all dropped, with the Nasdaq down 1.6%. Jobless claims rose, layoffs hit a January high since 2009, and job openings fell to their lowest in over five years, fueling speculation the Fed may cut rates despite inflation concerns. Treasury yields dropped to 4.19%, while silver plunged 9.1% and gold fell 1.2%. Tech stocks were mixed, with Qualcomm and Alphabet declining despite strong earnings, while AI-focused firms like Broadcom and McKesson rose. Crypto markets lost $2 trillion since October, with bitcoin briefly below $64,000.