Norway wealth fund lost $68 billion in first quarter as tech stocks fall

Norway's $2.2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, on Thursday reported a first-quarter loss of 636 billion Norwegian crowns ($68.44 billion) as the war in ‌the ⁠Middle East ⁠weighed on global stocks.

Norges Bank ​Investment Management (NBIM), which holds around half of its funds ​in the United States, posted a negative return of 1.9% for ​the January-March period, beating ⁠its benchmark index ‌by 0.01 percentage ​point.


"The ​result reflects a quarter ⁠with challenging market conditions," deputy CEO Trond ​Grande said in a statement.

"We ​saw limited impact on fixed income and real estate, but it was the decline in equities, especially among large U.S. technology companies, ‌that determined the outcome," he added.

The war that began ​with ​the U.S. ⁠and Israel launching coordinated strikes against Iran in late February left the S&P 500 stock ​index with its deepest quarterly decline since 2022, although markets have since recovered.

($1 = 9.2922 Norwegian crowns)