S&P 500 slides 3.5% as AI chip stocks lead market rout
Wall Street's best three-month rally vanished in hours as AI stocks collapsed.
The S&P 500 fell 3.5 per cent, the Dow Jones dropped 2.7 per cent, and the Nasdaq fell 4.7 per cent. Nvidia, the dominant force in the US sharemarket, slid 7.5 per cent, while Advanced Micro Devices tumbled 14.6 per cent.
The collapse reverses Wall Street's surge from the day before, its best day in three months. Investors are spooked by the soaring cost of borrowing money and the possibility that government could force pauses on AI data centre construction, which would cut demand for chips and power.
The ASX is set to open 0.4 per cent lower, though Australia's hit is far milder than Wall Street's.
- 3.5 per cent
- S&P 500 decline
- 4.7 per cent
- Nasdaq decline
- 7.5 per cent
- Nvidia fall
- April 2025
- Worst drop since
Why it mattersAI stocks have become so large they move the entire US market; their crash signals a sharp reversal in investor appetite for the technology sector.
AustraliaAustralian investors with US tech exposure face losses; the ASX will open weaker. Higher US interest rates and economic uncertainty could slow global growth, affecting Australian exporters.
