Nvidia, AMD, Meta, other tech stocks nosedive as Democratic sweep prompts AI slowdown fears

Investors had initially welcomed a historic “blue wave” in the US midterms. However, the rally did not sustain amid fears of a Democratic clampdown on AI expansion.

The Nasdaq declined 5.52% to 24,315.00 points on Thursday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.44% to 51,523.06 points.

Chipmakers bear the brunt


Nvidia, the face of the AI boom and the S&P 500's heaviest weight, fell 9.3%. That leaves the stock down 2.6% for 2026, after annual gains of roughly 39%, 171% and 239% over the previous three years.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) fared worse, tumbling 17.3%, while Qualcomm slid 9.5%.

The Nasdaq Composite ended down more than 10% from its October 6 record-high close, confirming a technical correction.

Data centre operators IREN and Applied Digital lost more than 14%, and power suppliers GE Vernova and Constellation Energy fell 7.5% and 2.5%, respectively.

Big Tech rout

The sell-off was not confined to chips. Meta Platforms shed 4%, while Amazon and Alphabet, Google’s parent, each lost 2.2%. Snapchat owner Snap slid 12% after missing third-quarter revenue estimates.

Elon Musk’s Tesla tumbled 9.5%, while SpaceX eased 6.7%, extending losses. Musk spent nearly half a billion dollars backing Republican candidates, including efforts to keep them in control in Texas, the home state of both companies.

Blue Wave effect

Investors are wary that a Republican rout in US midterm elections could risk AI expansion and construction of data centres.

Many of the newly elected lawmakers and governors promised to slow the pace of data centre construction, amid opposition from voters over higher power bills.

AI IPOs in focus

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Anthropic may have to accept a lower valuationthan the $1.5 trillion it had been targeting for its stock market debut, after a sharp tech sell-off spooked key investors.

The artificial intelligence company is aiming to hold its initial public offering the week of November 16 and had been expected to raise up to $100 billion, which would make it the largest IPO on record.

Rival OpenAI has delayed its plans to trade on Wall Street until next year. OpenAI President Greg Brockman said on Wednesday that the company now generates the majority of its revenue from enterprise sales and that he believes it will be ready to go public in 2027.

(With inputs from agencies)