Dubai:
Facebook shares have shed $52 billion (Dh191 billion) in market capitalisation over the past two days.
The stock drop is a result of a major data breach incident coming to light, which may potentially impact advertising revenues for the world’s largest social media company.
Facebook came under fire after it allowed a third-party, Cambridge Analytics, to access personal data of 50 million users. The data company, which worked for US President Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign, may have been used to sway public opinion during US elections.
As a result, Facebook shares fell 2.36 per cent to $168.48, extending the previous session’s 6.8 per cent fall. The company’s market capitalisation tumbled to $489.32 billion on Tuesday from $537.69 billion on Friday.
“The news will undoubtedly scare advertisers, especially if it leads to regulators changing Facebook’s business model in a way which may impact the company’s revenues,” Hussain Syed, Chief Market Strategist at FXTM said.
Other technology stocks also fell. Twitter fell more than 4 per cent, while Oracle shares were down more than 9 per cent.
“Investors should not only be worried about the drop in Facebook equities, but also about FAANG stocks which have been leading the bull market for many years,” Syed said. FAANG stocks include Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Alphabet.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.57 per cent higher to 24,751.51, while the S&P 500 index was 0.20 per cent higher to 2,718.47.
