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Nasdaq Falls 5.5% as US Midterm Results Trigger AI Sell-Off
Nasdaq falls 5.5% as US midterm results trigger AI sell-off, losing an estimated $2.5tn in market value.
Key points
- Nvidia shares slid more than 9% on Thursday, while AMD and Micron both fell more than 17%.
- Japan's Nikkei closed down 6% on Friday, and South Korea's Kospi ended the day down 6%.
- Democrats won both the US Senate and House of Representatives in Tuesday's midterms, taking control of Congress.
Why it matters. Investors appear worried about tougher regulation of AI after Democrat candidates opposed the data centres needed to power the technology.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 5.5% on Thursday, losing an estimated $2.5tn (£1.9tn), after US midterm elections raised concerns about slower AI development. Nvidia shares slid more than 9%, AMD and Micron each dropped more than 17%, and SpaceX and Tesla fell 8% and nearly 11%. The sell-off spread to Asia on Friday, when Japan's Nikkei closed down 6% and South Korea's Kospi ended down 6%.
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Nasdaq Falls 5.5% as US Midterm Results Trigger AI Sell-Off
The tech-heavy Nasdaq share index fell 5.5 percent on Thursday after the US midterm elections. The index lost an estimated $2.5 trillion (£1.9 trillion) in market value. Other key US stock indexes also saw large losses. Trillions of dollars were also wiped from major technology firms in Europe and Asia. Investors were concerned that the election outcome could slow the development of artificial intelligence, a sector that has driven recent market gains.