Technology stocks slump on weaker forecasts

Investors bailed out of a variety of big technology stocks Friday on concerns that future growth will be weaker than expected.

Some of the biggest tech names sold off in a big way.

• BlackBerry lays off employees in Waterloo, Ont., and Sunrise, Fla.

Shares of the social mediafirm LinkedInplunged 43per cent their worst day in historyafter the companyreleased a weak forecast for 2016 that disappointed market watchers.

Shares in data analytics companyTableau Software lost almost half their value after issuing a similarly bleak 2016 outlook.

Other social networkingstocks also fell notably.Facebookdropped by 5.8per cent; Twitter dove by seven per cent.

But the carnage was wider than just the social media companies. Amazon shares fell more than six per cent, Googleparent Alphabet fell almost four per cent,Netflix plunged 7.7per centand Apple dipped almost three per cent.

Recession fears

The selloffin technology was sparked bygrowingrecession fears among investors.

Investors were discouraged by a report that showed U.S. employersadded 151,000 jobs last month, a sharp deceleration from recentmonths as companies shed education, transportation and temporaryworkers.

Many of the big technology stocks are especially vulnerable to selloffs as they trade at high multiples on expectations that strong growth will continue.

The tech-heavyNasdaqComposite Index closed Friday at 4363, down 146points, or 3.3per cent.