WORLDTECHMicrosoft and Alphabet Gain as Nvidia and Tesla Slip After Democratic Midterm Sweep
Technology shares moved in opposite directions on Wednesday, with Microsoft and Alphabet rising while Nvidia and Tesla fell, according to a report by Decrypt. The split followed Democrats' sweep of the U.S. midterm elections, as investors weighed possible tougher artificial intelligence rules against the prospect that a divided government could limit sweeping policy changes.
Index rise masks sharp divergence
The Nasdaq-100 climbed 1.14% to 28,500, recovering from an overnight selloff that had briefly pushed index futures down more than 2%. Beneath the headline gain, individual stocks diverged widely, with software names jumping while hardware shares corrected lower, Decrypt reported.
Microsoft and Alphabet lead the advance
Microsoft jumped 6.01% to $552.32, while Alphabet, the parent company of Google, rose 4.63% to $292.99, according to intraday charts Decrypt reviewed on Wednesday.
Chipmakers and Tesla retreat
Nvidia fell 2.19% to $202.17, Tesla dropped 3.61% to $384.10 and Intel lost 5.80% to $57.04. Decrypt said Nvidia, which is undergoing the most pronounced price correction, still looks bullish over the longer trend even as its price tests weak support near the $200 level. The report added that none of the names has yet shown a heavy bearish trend.
Trump Media slide predates the vote
Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social, was among the day's steepest decliners, with shares plunging 14.29% to $5.10. According to the report, the stock had already lost roughly 55% of its value year to date before Tuesday's vote, so the fall extended a decline that began well before Democrats secured control of Congress.
Bitcoin recovers after election selloff
Bitcoin rebounded strongly after an initial election-related selloff, trading around $80,512 and up 4.12% on the day, Decrypt reported.
Regulatory and spending uncertainty
Decrypt attributes the mixed moves to uncertainty over what Democratic control of Congress will mean for technology companies that have gained from the Trump administration's deregulatory stance. The report also notes that the AI sector was already under scrutiny over heavy infrastructure spending and whether those investments would deliver adequate returns.
Open questions
- How will Democratic control of Congress reshape AI regulation for technology companies?
- Will the split between software and hardware stocks persist beyond this session?