Chip stocks plunge after voters reject data centers in the midterms

The Nasdaq fell 5.5 percent, its worst day since April 2025, CNBC reports. NVIDIA fell over 9 percent, losing almost $450 billion in value, and AMD, Micron and Applied Materials fell by double digits. Voters sided against data centers in all but one of 41 local measures, per CNBC's reading of Ballotpedia; another report counts differently. OpenAI then pledged to stop using NDAs with public officials and to pay its full electricity costs.

Why it matters: Local politics is now a direct constraint on AI buildout, not only a background risk.