Wall Street opens higher as Democrats win Congress; data centre stocks slide

[BENGALURU] US stocks opened higher on Wednesday (Nov 4) as investors bet that a divided Washington after the Democrats’ midterm sweep could limit sharp policy shifts, though data centre-related stocks were under pressure as concerns over tighter artificial intelligence regulation weighed.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 997.76 points or 1.9 per cent at the open to 52,784.48. The S&P 500 rose 86.51 points or 1.1 per cent to 7,655.43, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 271.36 points or 1.1 per cent to 25,643.36.

“Investors could conclude that Washington remains structurally constrained, limiting the prospects for dramatic shifts in the economic outlook,” said Allianz Global Investors’ chief investment officer for public markets Michael Krautzberger and senior economist Liam Wash.

The AI trade will be in focus after Democrats made gains in key data centre states including Texas and Georgia, where public opposition to the industry’s rapid expansion has been growing.

“Democratic wins at the state and local level are likely to lead to short-term data centre moratoria, potentially affecting about 45 per cent of planned US data centre capacity expansion,” Goldman Sachs economists said in a note.

Data centre operators lost ground, with Applied Digital and CoreWeave down 4.1 per cent and 5.3 per cent, respectively. Cipher Digital slid 14.3 per cent.

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The AI trade has come under some pressure recently as investors grow wary of Big Tech’s soaring AI spending and little evidence of adequate returns. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 confirmed a technical correction on Monday.

“AI has been an enormous engine powering the US economy, so any curbs on its future development could threaten to put the brakes on growth,” said Kit Rees, investment strategist at Quilter.

Utilities and equipment suppliers exposed to the data centre boom also came under pressure. GE Vernova fell 5.8 per cent, while Constellation Energy and Vistra, among the power companies most exposed to data centre projects in Texas, slid 5 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively. REUTERS