U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday as another sell-off in stocks tied to the artificial intelligence (AI) data center buildout weighed heavily on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 1,833.06 points, or 3.44 percent, to 51,523.06. The S and P 500 sank 334.89 points, or 4.36 percent, to 7,353.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 1,421.52 points, or 5.52 percent, to 24,315.00.
All of the 11 primary S and P 500 sectors ended in red, with technology and industrials leading the laggards by going down 7.30 percent and 4.12 percent, respectively. Consumer staples posted the weakest decline, down 0.67 percent.
Investors worried that Democratic victories in Tuesday's midterm elections could bring government-ordered pauses on new data centers and tighter scrutiny of the AI buildout, even as big technology companies borrow heavily to fund the expansion.
Chip stocks led the rout for a second straight day. Nvidia lost over 7 percent and was by far the heaviest weight on the S and P 500, Advanced Micro Devices tumbled over 15 percent, and cloud company CoreWeave fell 14.9 percent. Qualcomm fell about 12 percent after the company reported weaker-than-expected smartphone chip sales amid sluggish demand. Tesla and SpaceX also extended their post-election losses.
The VIX, known as Wall Street's fear gauge, jumped 48 percent Thursday morning, marking its biggest one-day percentage gain since April 4, 2025, when investors fled stocks in reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump's freshly announced tariffs.
The drops for AI stocks drowned out strong earnings elsewhere. AppLovin soared more than 30 percent after reporting revenue and profit above expectations, and Tapestry, the company behind Coach and Kate Spade, rallied 6.7 percent on a stronger-than-expected profit and raised forecasts.
U.S. stocks plunge as AI wipeout erases post-election rally
