Nasdaq loses more than 5% after Democratic midterm victory
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Mercado
The Nasdaq fell more than 5% on Thursday, wiping out its post-US midterm election gains, and Nasdaq 100 companies lost about $2 trillion in market value. Investors fear the Democratic victory will slow the development of artificial intelligence infrastructure, according to Mercado, citing the Wall Street Journal and JPMorgan.
The Nasdaq technology index lost more than 5% on Thursday, wiping out the gains recorded after the US midterm elections and entering correction territory, Mercado reports. The massive sell-off of semiconductor makers' shares spread to other sectors of the economy.
Nasdaq 100 companies lost about $2 trillion in market value. Investors fear the Democrats' landslide victory will slow the construction of artificial intelligence infrastructure. Candidates sceptical of the tech sector came to power in Texas, Georgia and Ohio, three states that account for nearly 40% of the data centre capacity planned in the United States.
"This is a real panic," which has "100% to do with chipmakers' shares and with the potential slowdown in the AI business," an analyst told the Wall Street Journal. JPMorgan analysts were more measured: the bank expects the AI boom to continue, while acknowledging that it will become "more expensive, slower and more concentrated in the coming years".
The correction extends the downward movement seen in commodities since the vote: Brent fell 8% after the US Democratic victory on 5 November, while Wall Street had initially risen when the results were announced.
