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AI stocks weathered a historic sell-off this week as investors panicked about about data centers.
Fears the Democrats could slow data center development led to the Nasdaq 100’s worst sell-off since 2020 .
Notable moves were seen in chips, oil, and Treasurys as markets swooned.
Thursday was the ugliest day for stock investors in recent memory.
Investors threw a tantrum this week as they digested the results of the midterms, and panicked at the idea that Democratic victories could lead to tighter regulation of AI and data centers.
It culminated in the worst sell-off the market has seen in over a year, with the major indexes bearing the deepest losses since President Donald Trump’s tariffs sparked chaos for investors last April.
The pain was deepest in tech, but no sector was spared. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 1,800 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 shed more than 6%.
Hedge funds unwound their positions at the fastest pace in over 10 years, according to an analysis from Wells Fargo. It also marked the heaviest single day of selling for retail investors since the pandemic, per Vanda Research, which tracks retail flows into stocks and ETFs.
These four charts illustrate the market bloodbath.
1. The Nasdaq 100 loses more than $2 trillion
The Nasdaq 100 shed $2.3 trillion in market cap on Thursday. The broader S&P 500 saw $3 trillion in value slashed from the index.
Thursday marked the Nasdaq’s worst decline since March 2020, when the pandemic caused stocks to crater.
2. Chips see their worst day in six years
Chipmakers, the centerpiece of the market’s AI trade, were clobbered as investors sought to reduce exposure to AI hardware in light of fears that the infrastructure boom could slow. The iShares Semiconductor ETF dropped 11%, logging its worst day in six years.
Here were some of the sector’s most notable moves on Thursday:
Company Ticker Today’s move
Sandisk SNDK -20%
Micron MU -16%
iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX -11%
Broadcom AVGO -10%
Nvidia NVDA -9%
Intel INTC -8%
3. Oil prices cratered 21% from their latest peak
Adjacent to the price action in stocks, oil prices also plunged this week, a sign that investors see Democratic lawmakers bringing a quicker end to the US-Iran war.
Brent , the international benchmark, dropped as low as $93 a barrel on Wednesday, marking a 21% plunge from its recent peak of $118 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped as low as $96 a barrel on Wednesday.
4. The 10-year was dragged lower over 50 basis points from its latest peak
The huge risk-off moved sparked a flight to safety. For investors, that meant piling into government bonds, which are now sporting yields that are the highest in about two decades.
Treasury yields fell across the board on Thursday. The move was also aided by the decline in oil prices, which soothed inflation fears.
The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield dropped nine basis points on Thursday to around 4.84%. The 10-year yield is down 51 basis points from its peak of 5.34% earlier this fall.
US Treasurys Level Drop on Thursday
2 year 4.47% -11 basis points
5 year 4.61% -7 basis points
30 year 5.25% -3 basis points
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