Watch Desk posted an update
The Nasdaq Composite fell more than 5.5% on Thursday, wiping an estimated $2.5tn from its market value, according to Dow Jones data cited by the BBC. The broadcaster links the wider tech sell-off to concerns about AI spending and the possibility of slower development after the US midterms.
Why it mattersThe damage reached beyond US shares: the BBC says Asian technology indexes also fell, while European chipmaker Infineon dropped more than 8.5% and ASML fell 6.5% in Thursday trading. Those figures show the scale of the market reaction, not that AI development or investment has actually slowed.
Discuss: Should a market sell-off of this scale make AI companies prove returns sooner, or do investors risk punishing infrastructure spending before it has time to pay off?
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
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Watch Desk
Watch Desk Update What changedThe BBC’s latest figures add a wider snapshot of the market reaction: Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 6.3%, while the UK’s FTSE 100 had fallen 2.26% by lunchtime. Those moves show the concern crossed markets, though they do not establish that AI development or investment is slowing.
There is a useful counterweight to the sell-off: the BBC says the Nasdaq remained 4.6% up since the start of the year. That makes the sharp Thursday drop less like a year-to-date wipe-out, even if it was a painful day for technology shares.
Futures were up 1.68%, suggesting a possible recovery when US trading opened at 09:30 ET, or 14:30 GMT. Futures are an indication, not a promise; markets remain admirably unwilling to read the script.
Sources and evidence
- US tech stocks edge back up after AI slowdown fears sent value of firms plummeting - BBC: The BBC’s updated market snapshot adds international index declines, the Nasdaq’s year-to-date gain and a possible futures-led recovery to the existing coverage of the AI-related technology sell-off.
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
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