On Thursday, 5 November, the Nasdaq plunged 5.52%, its worst session since April 2025, while the S&P 500 lost 4.36% and the Dow 3.44%. Around $3 trillion disappeared from S&P 500 companies’ market value.
It was not two consecutive days of broad market collapse: Wednesday’s post-election rally masked weakness in chips and data centres. Thursday turned that retreat into a wider rout as investors questioned whether AI infrastructure spending could sustain its extraordinary pace.
Nvidia closed 9.26% lower at $181.60; AMD dropped 17.26% to $404.40 and Broadcom lost 10.43% to $291.53. These were closing moves, not early-session snapshots.
“Nvidia, Qualcomm and Oracle under pressure The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 12.2% on Thursday, more than twice the Nasdaq’s decline.”
EuroAsia.News, reporting from New York
Qualcomm fell 9.5% after smartphone-chip sales missed expectations, illustrating that the pressure extends beyond AI processors. Oracle was down about 7% at 1.36pm New York time as investors sold companies exposed to data-centre construction. That Oracle figure is intraday, rather than a closing loss.
The connection is investment: Nvidia supplies computing chips, Oracle builds cloud capacity, and both depend on customers continuing to spend. Slower construction or weaker utilisation would undermine the revenues investors have already priced into their shares.
Why the mood changed
Democratic victories in Congress and important state elections increased fears of tougher scrutiny of data centres, electricity demand and household energy costs. Construction restrictions could delay projects and therefore chip orders.
These are risks, not an enacted nationwide ban. Trump retains presidential veto power. The political shift nevertheless added uncertainty to existing doubts about returns on enormous AI spending commitments.
China: Alibaba is not following Nvidia
China’s market response was mixed. On Thursday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 3.7%, and its technology index rose 5.5%. Alibaba’s US-listed shares also climbed 2.64% to $108.07, their second consecutive daily gain, directly contrasting with Wall Street’s technology rout.
Alibaba’s AI business is producing measurable growth. For the June quarter, it reported AI Cloud and Compute Services revenue of $7.1 billion, up 45%, and cloud adjusted EBITA of $830 million, up 133%. Its Qwen models and applications underpin the strategy; AI-product revenue reached $1.8 billion. These are company-reported results, not guarantees of future share-price gains.
DeepSeek is a separate, privately held company: there is no publicly quoted DeepSeek share price to compare with Nvidia. Its emphasis on efficient models raises a wider question—whether cheaper AI can expand usage while reducing the computing expenditure needed for each task.
By Friday’s opening, selling had reached China: the CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite were down around 1.5%, while Hong Kong’s AI index dropped about 7%. An early update showed Tencent down 1.8% and chipmaker SMIC 4.5%. These were intraday readings, not final results.
London: a small index fall hides bigger losses
The FTSE 100 declined only 0.43% on Thursday, but London-listed technology funds suffered much more: Polar Capital Technology Trust fell 6.6%, Allianz Technology Trust 7.1% and Scottish Mortgage 4.8%. Investors can therefore face substantial AI exposure through London-listed portfolios without owning American shares directly.
Other British stocks moved differently: Diageo gained 3.2% and Next 2.5% following trading updates. Europe’s chip suppliers remained vulnerable, with ASML down 6.6% and Infineon 8.5%.
The contrast is between business models and expectations, not simply countries. AI demand can keep growing while expensive shares fall, especially if spending, profits or approvals fail to match the pace investors assumed.
