Massive tech sell-off wipes $2.5 trillion from the stock market
Wall Street suffered a historic rout Thursday after political shifts fueled fears of a slowing AI buildout. The Nasdaq plunged 5.52 percent and the S&P 500 posted its worst day since April 2025.
Why it matters to you
If you hold index funds or a 401(k), your balance just took a major hit as tech giants and chipmakers tumbled across the board.
Global markets tumbled after a Wall Street rout wiped out roughly $2.5 trillion in market value Thursday on fears that political shifts could put the brakes on the artificial intelligence buildout, according to CNN. South Korea’s Kospi plunged by almost 9 percent at the market open on Friday, triggering a trading halt on the exchange for 20 minutes.
That came after the Nasdaq slumped 5.52 percent and closed in correction on Thursday, trading down more than 10 percent from its record high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq suffered its worst day since April 2025, when President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping global tariffs.
Thursday’s sell-off extended to broader indexes, with the S&P 500 and the Dow both posting their worst day since April 2025. By Thursday the Dow closed 1,833 points lower, wiping out all of those gains. Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa campaigned on a temporary data center moratorium and eliminating certain tax incentives for businesses building data centers in the state.
Nvidia shares sank 9.3 percent Thursday, erasing their gains for this year. Shares of Elon Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX dropped 11 percent and 9 percent, respectively. CoreWeave and Nebius, two neoclouds that rent out compute power for the AI boom, plunged roughly 10 percent and 15 percent, respectively.
Wall Street’s fear gauge, the VIX, which measures expectations for volatility, surged roughly 70 percent. When the market sneezes, everyone feels the draft in their retirement accounts.
