Overview
- Markets swung from post‑election relief to a sharp tech‑led sell‑off after investors concluded Democratic victories increase the chance of stricter limits on new AI data centres.
- The shock session on Thursday saw the Nasdaq and Nasdaq‑100 fall about 5–6 percent while the PHLX semiconductor index plunged more than 12 percent, driving heavy losses in Nvidia, Micron, AMD and memory names.
- The US rout spread to Asia and Europe with the Kospi and Nikkei falling heavily, Seoul pausing trading for 20 minutes, and the DAX sliding from a record high to below 26,000 points.
- Analysts said the sell‑off exposed concentration risk in a few mega‑cap tech stocks and could slow IPOs and private valuations for AI firms as investors reassess the pace of future data‑centre build‑outs.
- Near term, markets will watch public statements from governors and federal officials on data‑centre policy, company guidance from cloud and chip suppliers, and upcoming US economic readings such as the October jobs report for the next directional cue.