AI Stocks Fall as Data-Center Concerns Grow

Wall Street suffered its steepest selloff since April 2025, with the S&P 500 down about 4% and the Nasdaq falling roughly 5.5% to 6%; Nvidia fell around 9%, and it has lost nearly $1.4 trillion in market value since its October peak. The decline followed Democratic victories in midterm elections, which heightened concerns that tighter AI rules, local opposition and permitting hurdles could slow U.S. data-center construction and AI infrastructure spending. High valuations, borrowing costs and doubts about whether heavy investment will deliver promised profits also weighed on stocks; UBS warned that about 30% of planned U.S. data-center capacity additions for 2028 could be at risk. Chipmakers including Qualcomm, Arm, AMD and Micron fell sharply, despite AMD’s record profits, and the selloff spread to data-center operators and suppliers while some broader-market stocks held up. Nvidia’s outlook excludes China data-center revenue, and analysts say construction delays could defer orders but have not established that customers are canceling them. Investors are looking for clearer evidence on deployment schedules and future earnings, with Nvidia’s Nov. 17 earnings report a key test.