Nvidia Stock Tumbles Alongside Qualcomm, Pushing Nasdaq to Its Worst Session Since April 2025

Nvidia and Qualcomm shares plunged on 5 November 2026, driving the Nasdaq to its steepest daily loss in 19 months as investors questioned the pace, cost and financing of the artificial intelligence boom.

The Nasdaq fell 5.5%, its worst session since April 2025, CNBC reported. Nvidia lost almost $450 billion (£335 billion) in market value, while Qualcomm added to the pressure with a weaker-than-expected earnings forecast for the current quarter.

The sell-off followed this week's Democratic gains in Congress, adding to investor concerns that political and regulatory changes could slow the development of infrastructure supporting artificial intelligence (AI).

Debt and Construction Fears Shake the AI Trade

CNBC linked the retreat to rising interest rates, increasing capital requirements and concerns that companies could accumulate debt faster than they generate revenue.

Investors were also assessing whether tighter restrictions at the state level could delay data centre construction, according to a separate report from the channel. Such measures could affect businesses supplying the chips and equipment needed for the industry's expansion.

The concerns extended beyond individual earnings announcements. Investors were weighing the cost of sustaining the AI buildout against uncertainty over how quickly the spending would translate into revenue.

Qualcomm's weaker outlook added a company-specific setback to those broader concerns, contributing to heavy selling across semiconductor shares.

Chipmakers Fall Despite Strong Data Centre Sales

The iShares Semiconductor exchange-traded fund (ETF), which trades under the ticker SOXX, dropped 12%. CNBC described it as the fund's worst day since March 2020, during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Micron and Applied Materials each suffered double-digit percentage declines on Thursday.

Those losses came despite substantial growth in parts of the industry. Intel had reported a 78% increase in data centre revenue the previous week, but its shares fell following a weaker-than-expected forecast linked to a memory shortage.

AMD also reported this week that sales from its data centre business had more than doubled in the latest reporting period.

The figures highlighted the contrast between recent revenue growth and investors' concerns about future performance. Strong reported sales did not shield chipmakers from Thursday's broader retreat.

Asian Markets Slide Before European Tech Recovers

The pressure spread to Asia-Pacific markets on 6 November. South Korea's Kospi fell more than 6% as semiconductor stocks slumped, while Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 5.9% and entered bear market territory, CNBC reported.

European shares also opened sharply lower. Losses subsequently eased during the morning as oil prices fell and investors assessed the wider political and economic outlook following the midterm elections.

Technology shares later showed signs of recovery. Europe's Stoxx 600 technology index was up 0.44% in CNBC's Friday update, with ASML gaining 4% and ASMI rising 3%.

Nasdaq-100 futures climbed 1.7%, pointing towards a possible rebound after the previous session pushed the Nasdaq into correction territory. Standard & Poor's 500 futures rose 0.54%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.6%.

Midterm History Offers Context, With a Warning

Chart analyst Frank Cappelleri told CNBC that the Nasdaq had been higher 12 months after the election in all but one of 13 midterm cycles since 1974.

'The caveat is that the path can be a volatile one,' he said.

Cappelleri cited 2018, when the Nasdaq rose immediately after Democrats won the House of Representatives, before suffering a sharp sell-off in December. Despite that reversal, the index stood about 15% higher a year after the election, he said.