Technology stocks dropped sharply on Friday, with some of the sector's largest companies bearing the brunt of the sell off.
Amazon, Google, Facebook and Yahoo were each down more than 4%, while Microsoft shed 3% and Apple was 1.5% lower. LinkedIn and Netflix were each off almost 5%.
[seealso slug=http://sale-online.click/2014/04/04/grubhub-goes-public/%5D%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThe Nasdaq Composite Index, which is made up of more than 3,000 tech companies, fell 2.6%, putting it on pace for its worst day since June 2012. The drop is the latest twist in what is shaping up to be a tumultuous 2014 for the tech index. It is currently off 1.2% since the start of the year.
The poor trading did not put a damper on GrubHub's IPO, however, which gained 34%.
Some market watchers have expressed concern that tech stocks have experienced an overinflation, sometimes known as a bubble, particularly as valuations for private companies continue to increase.
A index drop of more than 2.5% is alarming -- but important to understand in context. The Nasdaq, including many of the companies listed above, enjoyed a stellar 2013. Even with Friday's drop, the index is up 28% in the past twelve months.
The dropoff did not affect only tech stocks. The S&P500, considered the benchmark index and a good proxy for the wider market, fell 1.3%, while the widely-followed Dow Jones Industrial Average, which follows 30 of the largest U.S. companies, dropped 1%.
The S&P500 and the Dow are also coming off strong years, up 19.7% and 12.5% respectively. Both indices remain near all-time highs.
In other words, keep calm and carry on investing.