Tech shares crash as US election results spark artificial intelligence fears

UPDATE - follow-up to Major tech stocks plunge as US midterms add to fears of AI slowdown: Democratic victories in the US midterm elections have triggered a massive drop in technology shares amid worries over artificial intelligence development. The Nasdaq composite stock index fell by over five and a half percent, losing about two and a half trillion dollars in market value, according to Dow Jones figures.

Market Impact

Chipmakers and semiconductor firms suffered heavy losses on Thursday. Nvidia shares dropped more than nine percent, wiping over four hundred billion dollars from the company. Advanced Micro Devices and Micron both fell by more than seventeen percent, while Intel dropped ten point three percent and SanDisk plunged over twenty-two percent. Elon Musk firms SpaceX and Tesla fell eight percent and nearly eleven percent respectively, losing more than three hundred billion dollars combined. Musk had spent nearly four hundred fifty million dollars backing Republican campaigns, including at least forty-five million for Ken Paxton in the Texas senate race, before Democrats won the state.

Political Reaction

US President Donald Trump blamed his political opponents for the market slide in a social media post. Democrats captured both the Senate and the House of Representatives in Tuesday's midterms, winning control of Congress for the remainder of Trump's term. Texas Democratic governor-elect Gina Hinojosa campaigned against data centres and promised a building pause in the sector. Democratic leaders argue that artificial intelligence has grown without enough oversight and plan to change that using their new congressional power.

Industry Response

OpenAI president and co-founder Greg Brockman stated at a conference in Napa, California, that everyone was surprised by the voter reaction against data infrastructure. Meta president Dina Powell McCormick noted that the industry must work harder to present artificial intelligence positively. Wealth Club chief investment strategist Susannah Streeter said that fresh panic over the artificial intelligence trade has hit Wall Street hard.

Context

Stock markets regularly react to political shifts that threaten to alter business regulations or government spending. Major technology companies depend heavily on continuous growth in digital infrastructure and investor confidence.