Nasdaq Composite Pivots Sharply Lower In Afternoon Trade

The Nasdaq on Thursday afternoon turned sharply lower. The Nasdaq Composite Index was most recently down 70 points, or 1%, as the index was jolted suddenly lower, with some investors and traders citing a combination of concerns about valuations and traders taking some money off the table following a brisk run for the high-flying sector. The abrupt retreat for the tech-centric gauge came as the other main equity benchmarks pared an earlier advance. All three equity gauges notched all-time intraday trading highs at the open, but the S&P 500 index was most recently down 0.4% at 2,466 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average trading flat at 21,724, buoyed by gains in Verizon Communication , while Dow component and tech-giant Apple Inc. , sold off by 2.8%, cutting about 30 points from the blue-chip gauge. The popular tech-focused exchange-traded fund, the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF , was trading down 1.1% in recent trade.