Nvidia loses $200 billion in value after brief run as top stock

(Bloomberg) – Nvidia Corp.’s run as the world’s largest company didn’t last long.

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Shares of the semiconductor giant have plunged for two consecutive days, losing more than 7 percent after rallying earlier in the week and pushing the company’s valuation to $3.3 trillion, just above that of Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. Traders said there were no fundamental reasons for the two-day sell-off, but at least it shows how big the company has become after nearly tripling in value over the past year.

Of course, given that the three mega-companies have been battling for pole position all month, Nvidia could soon regain the top spot after losing more than $200 billion in market value in two days.

“Nothing went wrong with Nvidia, which hit the number one spot earlier this week,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. “It’s just the usual fluctuations in the stock market that, for such large companies, can erode or increase their market value by hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.”

The decline also comes amid a general market decline as options expire in what’s known as a triple witching session. As the contracts disappear, investors adjust their positions, causing a surge in volume that can rattle individual holdings.

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