Shares of technology companies ticked up as investors breathed a sigh of relief in the wake of commentary from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

Fears that inflation was again rearing its ugly head weighed on high-risk sectors, including the tech sector in recent session.

Online megastore Amazon.com is slashing hundreds of jobs from its cloud-computing business -- the tech giant's latest round of layoffs as it aims to cut costs.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, which makes chips for customers such as Apple and occupies a critical place in the global electronics supply chain, has prepared for years for a major earthquake, and briefly evacuated some plants after a 7.4-magnitude quake struck eastern Taiwan.


Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-03-24 1749ET