U.S. software stocks plunge, as IBM's results fall short of expectations, sparking investor concerns.

According to BIT (bit.com) market data, U.S. software and IT services stocks plunged, as International Business Machines (IBM)’s earnings that missed analysts’ expectations reignited market concerns about the sector’s outlook. During Tuesday’s U.S. pre-market trading, IBM’s stock plummeted by as much as 26%—if the decline holds through the close, it would mark its worst single-day performance since at least 1968. IBM attributed the underperformance to customers shifting capital expenditures away from its products toward chips and servers. The broader software sector came under pressure: Microsoft fell 2%, Workday Inc. dropped 6.3%, Salesforce Inc. declined 3.2%, Autodesk Inc. was down 2.4%, and SAP SE fell 3.4%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF, which tracks the software sector, fell as much as 2.7% before paring its losses.