Dow drops 1,800 points, Nasdaq tumbles into correction territory on AI tech wreck: Live updates

On Election Day, American investors experienced shock as the Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.5%, marking its largest single-day drop since April 2025. The tech-heavy index was among the worst-performing stocks, with Nvidia falling as much as 9% and AMD, Micron, and other semiconductor firms posting steep losses. Data center-related companies, including CoreWeave and Dell Technologies, also saw significant declines.

This sell-off came hours after the U.S. midterm elections, which saw Democrats gain control of the Senate and House of Representatives. The opposition party capitalized on voter discontent over Republican President Donald Trump's policies on inflation, tariffs, AI data centers, and the Iran war. The Democrats retained control of the House, surpassing the 218-seat threshold.

The political shift raised concerns about potential tighter regulations on data center development and AI-related industries. Investors quickly reassessed their positions, with semiconductor and AI stocks bearing the brunt of the market turmoil. The decline in tech stocks also had a ripple effect on Asian markets, with the Nikkei Stock Average falling below the 60,000 level and tech shares in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan suffering losses.