Paris (France) (AFP) – Global stock markets continue to gauge the consequences of the Democrats' victory in the midterms on Thursday, causing a sharp decline in tech stocks due to fears of increased regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) in the United States.
Published on: 05/11/2026 - 16:11
In New York, the Nasdaq index with its strongest technological coloring fell 2.33% in early trading around 2:50 p.m. GMT. The broader S&P 500 index lost 1.24%. The Dow Jones, more traditional stocks, lost 0.31%.
In Europe, the Paris Stock Exchange gained 0.80%, Frankfurt 0.30%, London 0.51% and Milan was stable (-0.08%).
“Investors welcome the prospect of a better balance of powers” and “at first glance, this period of cohabitation can lead to relative stability,” notes Grégoire Kounowski, analyst at Norman K.
The main loser AI
“Investors now seem to favor traditional sectors and consumer stocks to the detriment of semiconductors, penalized by the prospect of stricter regulatory supervision of investments in artificial intelligence” (AI) with the takeover of both houses of Congress by the Democrats, explains John Plassard.
Several newly elected Democrats campaigned to slow down the construction of data centers for artificial intelligence in their constituencies, which raises fears of a turn of the screw in this area.
Values linked to this technology are therefore declining on the major financial markets. This is particularly the case for semiconductors and electronic chips, essential elements for equipping these data centers.
In New York, in the first exchanges after the opening, Micron (-5.56%), Broadcom (-3.98%) and Nvidia (-2.69%) fell further, after having already finished in the red the day before. AMD fell 10.69%.
In Europe, Infineon lost 4.45% in Frankfurt, ASML lost 4.86% in Amsterdam and STMicroelectronics fell 6.60% in Paris.
In Seoul, the flagship Kospi index collapsed by 5.28%, weighed down by the fall of the two South Korean memory chip behemoths Samsung Electronics (-7.57%) and SK hynix (-9.46%).
Oil remains below 100 dollars
Oil is recovering, for lack of concrete progress towards an agreement in the Middle East, after having plummeted on Wednesday in the face of the clear victory of the Democrats in the American Congress which puts Donald Trump under pressure to find an agreement with Tehran.
Around 2:40 p.m. GMT, Brent from the North Sea, the global benchmark for crude, gained 3.04%, to $97.50 per barrel, and its American equivalent, WTI, gained 1.97%, to $89.86 per barrel.
The bond market is taking a break, the day after a drop in interest rates due to the fall in oil prices.
In the United States, the ten-year yield reached 4.89%, the same level as the day before. In Europe, its German equivalent, a benchmark on the continent, was at 3.27%, also stable. The French ten-year rate was at 4.76%, compared to 4.77%.
The Bank of England raises its key rate
The Bank of England (BoE) on Thursday raised its key rate to 4%, its first increase in more than three years, to combat inflation which could exceed 6% in the United Kingdom next year, in the worst scenario, and impose new turns of the screw.
“Inflationary pressures from rising energy prices are now strong enough to justify raising the policy rate,” BoE Governor Andrew Bailey said in a written commentary.
The pound sterling remained unmoved by this news (stable against the dollar, at $1.3471). The British ten-year yield increased by 0.02 percentage points compared to the previous day to 5.15%.
Rheinmetall collapses
The arms giant Rheinmetall is having a dark day on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Thursday after lowering its annual forecasts the day before for the second time in a few months, following the postponement of a mega-contract with the German army.
Around 2:40 p.m. GMT, the group's shares collapsed by 15.19%, to 851.00 euros, the lowest since the start of 2025.
© 2026 AFP
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