Technology shares fell sharply across major markets as investors reassessed the durability of the artificial-intelligence investment boom following Democratic gains in the United States midterm elections. The retreat began on Wall Street and carried into Asia-Pacific trading, with chipmakers and other companies closely tied to data-centre spending among the hardest hit.
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.5% in Thursday's US session, while the S&P 500 lost 4.36%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,833.06 points, or 3.44%. The Guardian's market coverage estimated that more than $3.2 trillion was erased from US equity values during the session. Nvidia declined more than 9%, while AMD and Micron each fell about 17% and SanDisk dropped 22%.
Asian exchanges extended the sell-off on Friday. Japan's Nikkei fell nearly 6%, South Korea's KOSPI lost roughly 6.7% and Taiwan's TAIEX was down about 4.5%. Emerging-market equities touched their lowest level in seven months, according to Reuters reporting cited in the live coverage. In Britain, the FTSE 100 was down about 1.75% during the session.
Investors were weighing whether a Democrat-controlled Congress could bring greater scrutiny to data-centre construction and technology regulation. Public opposition to large computing facilities has focused attention on their electricity, water and land requirements. Any slower approval process could alter the growth assumptions embedded in companies supplying chips, servers and infrastructure.
The political shift arrived when confidence in the AI trade was already less secure. Market analysts cited disappointing growth signals from large technology-company earnings and questions about whether the steep recent pace of AI expenditure can continue. Leveraged positions may have amplified the decline as falling prices forced some investors to provide more collateral or sell holdings.
Not every interpretation was negative for the longer term. Mark Dowding of RBC BlueBay Asset Management argued that slower project growth could ease the pressure created by rapid debt and equity issuance from hyperscale technology companies. A more measured buildout, in that view, could make financing more sustainable and help stabilize credit spreads.
The US dollar strengthened as investors sought defensive assets, while US stock futures later indicated a calmer opening and a modest rebound for technology shares. Those signals did not erase the previous session's losses, but they suggested the initial wave of selling might not continue at the same intensity.
The market moves show how closely valuations have become tied to expectations for uninterrupted AI infrastructure growth. They do not establish that one election result alone caused every decline. Earnings, elevated valuations, leverage and changing spending expectations were also part of the reassessment described by market participants.
