Overview
- U.S. equity markets suffered a sharp rout on Thursday when major indexes fell sharply, with the Nasdaq down about 5.5–6 percent, the S&P 500 off roughly 4.4 percent and the Dow down about 3 to 3.4 percent.
- Chipmakers and storage firms bore the worst losses, with the PHLX semiconductor index plunging around 12 percent and many names posting double‑digit declines that erased roughly $2.5–3 trillion in market value.
- The shock spread overseas as Asian exchanges tumbled, Seoul briefly halted trading, and European markets cooled after the swing in U.S. tech prices reduced appetite for risk.
- Traders and analysts linked the rout to fears that Democrats who won key races will impose moratoria or tighter rules on building large data centers, which could slow demand for chips, servers and storage and force investors to reprice AI‑related bets and IPO prospects.
- Markets remain volatile with a modest tech rebound seen the next day, but the outlook now hinges on upcoming policy signals, state actions on data‑center builds and economic data that will clarify whether this is a short correction or a longer reassessment.