AI Boom Under Threat? Markets Lose $2.5 Trillion in a Day

A sell-off in artificial intelligence stocks that wiped roughly $2.5 trillion off Wall Street appeared to be easing Friday, but only after hitting Asian and European markets hard.

US tech stocks were set for a modest rebound at the opening bell, with the Nasdaq up 1.3% and the S&P 500 up 0.4%. The Dow bucked the trend and fell 0.9%.

Some of Thursday’s hardest-hit AI-linked stocks were recovering. Nvidia was trading 5.5% higher, and SpaceX was up 4%. Both had dropped more than 9% on Thursday, and Nvidia suffered its worst day since January 2025.

Thursday’s plunge came as traders weighed what a Democratic sweep in the US midterm elections could mean for AI. The Nasdaq fell 5.5%, its worst day since April 2025, when President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on America’s major trade partners.

Investors fear Democrats, who won both the House and the Senate, could block or slow spending on new AI infrastructure. Backlash over the environmental and community impact of new data centres became a key issue in the elections.

Asia took the sharpest hit on Friday. Asian tech companies, which supply the chips needed to build AI data centres, have benefited from heavy demand this year.

Analysts expect markets to stay sensitive until the newly elected lawmakers take office early next year.