Major tech stocks plunge as US midterms add to fears of AI slowdown

Hundreds of billions of dollars in market value has been wiped from major tech firms in a stock market rout after the US midterm elections sparked concerns of a slowdown in AI development. Following Democratic wins after election campaigns run on slowing AI, shares in firms across the tech and artificial intelligence sectors plummeted. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite stock index closed down by more than 5.5% to lose an estimated $2.5tn in market capitalisation, according to Dow Jones data, while other key US stock indexes also saw big losses in their worst days since 2025.

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