Wall Street slumped after Alphabet’s capital spending plans unsettled investors, while a weak outlook from Qualcomm deepened the tech sell-off. In Europe, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged, while Rio Tinto and Glencore separately abandoned merger talks. In commodities, silver plunged nearly 14% amid a firmer US dollar, a move that is likely to weigh on Australian shares, which are expected to fall on Friday.

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