Global stocks plunge as fears over US AI slowdown spread to Asia and Europe — SkimNews
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- Nasdaq sank 5.5% on Thursday, erasing an estimated $2.5tn (£1.9tn) in market value and slipping into correction territory, yet it remains up about 4.6% from the start of the year and higher than a year ago.
- Nvidia shares slid more than 9% as the 'magnificent seven' tech giants — including Apple and Tesla — shed a trillion dollars of value in a single trading day.
- Tesla fell nearly 11% and SpaceX 8%, cutting more than $300bn from their market value, after Elon Musk spent nearly $450m backing Republican campaigns, including at least $45m for Ken Paxton for the Texas senate seat, with Texas turning blue on Tuesday.
- Kospi plunged more than 8% intraday, triggering a circuit breaker before closing down 6%, with SK Hynix down more than 10%; Japan's Nikkei closed down 6%, while Europe's FTSE 100 slipped nearly 2% and Dax fell 2.4% on indexes with fewer tech stocks.
- Bernie Sanders demanded a 'NATIONAL DATA CENTER MORATORIUM NOW,' warning that 'Americans don't want Big Tech oligarchs wrecking the environment, gutting jobs and threatening humanity's future,' after Democrats won both the Senate and House, with dozens of ballot measures aimed at restricting the hubs.
- Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said investors fear huge AI spending with 'no clear idea of when, or whether, there will be payback,' and that the midterms 'muddied the waters' as Democrats could 'slow the pace of data centre roll-outs' and seek new ways to regulate the sector.
- Trump blamed the plunge on the Democrats — 'The Stock Market suffered one of the Worst Days in History based on the results of the Election' — and on Friday said only 'foolish leadership' would 'say no to the riches' AI brings.
Why it matters: For chip and AI names the damage was immediate and global: Nvidia fell more than 9%, SK Hynix more than 10%, and SpaceX and Tesla together shed over $300bn. The material change for data-centre developers is political — Democrats now run both chambers and dozens of ballot measures restrict the hubs, while Trump insists he still backs the sector's riches.
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