Stocks plunge as election outcome and AI worries crush tech shares

Stocks suffered their worst day since April 2025, with the Nasdaq 100 dropping 6.3% (erasing $2.3 trillion) and the S&P 500 falling 4.4% ($2.8 trillion lost). The sell-off was driven by two factors: a surprising wave of Democratic midterm victories, including many candidates who pledged to regulate or halt AI data centers, and disappointing earnings from chipmakers Qualcomm and Arm Holdings that raised doubts about AI investment returns. The Nasdaq Composite entered correction territory, falling over 5.5%. Trump blamed Democrats on Truth Social. The rout spread to Asian markets, with South Korea's Kospi dropping 8% (triggering a trading halt), Japan's Nikkei falling 6%, and Taiwan's TAIEX dropping 9%. Chip stocks led losses: the Philadelphia semiconductor index fell 12.3%, its worst day since March 2020, while SanDisk plunged 22% and Nvidia dropped 9.2%. Elon Musk's Tesla and SpaceX each fell nearly 10%, shedding over $400 billion combined since the election. Despite the drop, the Nasdaq Composite remains up over 30% since Election Day 2024. Analyst Ed Yardeni described it as the AI bubble losing air rapidly rather than bursting, which he said reduces the likelihood of severe economic consequences. Traders reduced bets on a December Fed rate hike to around 60%.

(Source：NBC News)