Nasdaq Tumbles After Democrats Take Congress — SkimNews
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- Nasdaq, home to Alphabet, Nvidia, Meta and Apple, bore the sharpest falls on Thursday after Democrats swept the midterms and took full control of Congress.
- James Talarico, who won the Senate race in once-Republican Texas, said Democrats must protect America's leadership in AI while establishing "clear, consistent laws" for businesses.
- Gina Hinojosa, Texas's Democratic governor-elect, campaigned against data centres and pledged a moratorium on the construction of new facilities, her win potentially placing opposition to Elon Musk's relocated SpaceX and Tesla operations.
- Elon Musk spent nearly $450m backing Republican campaigns in the midterms, and the Texas governorship went to a candidate pledging a freeze on new data centre construction.
- Goldman Sachs research projects AI investment will reach $1trillion in 2026, and the boom has already absorbed so much available cash that other industries' own borrowing costs have risen.
- Gallup's poll published in May found 71% of Americans would oppose building a data centre in their community, against 53% for a nuclear power station.
- Tudor Brown, co-founder of Arm Holdings, says valuations were inflated by expectations of "almost infinite AI growth" and that there is "a natural floor"; Nandini Roy Choudhury of Future Market Insights sees no immediate broad tech recovery, with traders favouring firms with stronger balance sheets.
Why it matters: Democratic control of both houses puts new legislation on data centre construction and energy use in play, with 71% of Americans already opposing a local data centre; investors are left weighing promised returns against Goldman Sachs' projected $1trillion of 2026 AI investment.
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