Wall Street falls 1,711 points as Nasdaq enters correction

The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.4% to enter correction territory, and the S&P 500 dropped 4% in its worst session since April 2025, while the Dow Jones lost 1,711 points, or 3.2%.

The decline erased Wednesday's gains that followed the US midterm elections, as investors accelerated their exit from technology and semiconductor stocks amid fears of a slowdown in the data centre buildout after the Democratic win.

Nvidia and Broadcom shares each fell 8%, Oracle dropped 7%, while Qualcomm lost 10% despite beating estimates because of a weaker-than-expected earnings outlook.

Keith Lerner, chief investment officer at Truist Wealth, said: "Unlike yesterday, you're just seeing that the sell-off in tech, the size of it, is now feeding itself into the broader market," adding that "the rubber band is becoming increasingly stretched."

What do these terms mean?

Correction: A fall of 10% or more in an index from its peak; the term describes a large decline that does not yet amount to a bear market.

Semiconductors: Electronic chips that power devices, phones and data centres, and are essential to the AI industry.

Dow Jones: An index that includes a number of major listed US companies and is used to gauge the overall performance of the US market.