Microsoft’s shares plummeted overnight with a staggering $400 billion wiped off its value marking one of the largest single-day losses in corporate history.
Despite this, the broader US stock market remained relatively stable.
The wealth of Australian billionaires Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, co-founders of Atlassian, took a significant hit, with their combined losses estimated at over $1 billion.
The Australian dollar surged to nearly 71 US cents, reaching a nearly four-year high against the US dollar and a 34-year peak against the Japanese yen.
Gold prices also soared, breaching $5500 per ounce before retreating slightly, while silver prices skyrocketed over 100 per cent in the past year, fueling a frenzy among investors and prompting long queues at bullion dealers.
