Global AI sell-off: DAX slides after record high

The global sell-off in AI and semiconductor stocks also spooked investors on the German stock market before the weekend. After trading began on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the DAX fell by almost two percent.

The trigger was a massive slide in prices on Wall Street. There was also great unrest on the Asian stock exchanges. Due to heavy price losses, the Seoul stock exchange even had to briefly suspend trading to prevent panic selling. The background is the growing doubts as to whether the billion-dollar investments in artificial intelligence will pay off.

From the record high of 26,692 points reached just the day before, the DAX temporarily lost more than 1,000 points. At the weekend, the leading index ended up trading down 1.9 percent at around 25,820 points. This means that the DAX completely gave up its weekly increase.

Concerns that stricter rules might take the wind out of the AI ​​hype also affected German stocks such as Infineon, Siemens Energy and Hochtief - which actually benefited from the AI ​​euphoria. The values ​​have now recovered again.

After the sell-off on US stock markets, the technology sector recovered somewhat today. The Nasdaq 100 rose significantly at the start of trading, primarily thanks to increased semiconductor stocks. However, the recovery was only able to partially offset the losses of the past few days: the index has lost around nine percent since the end of October.

The market-wide S&P 500 also made up for some of its previous day's losses. The Dow Jones, on the other hand, fell slightly again. Over the course of the week, all three indices are likely to be heading for a loss - the Nasdaq 100 and the Dow, especially because of the sharp price slide on Thursday.

After the shares of chip manufacturer Nvidia had their worst trading day since January 2025, they rose significantly again. Other industry heavyweights such as AMD, Intel and Micron Technology also rose again - as did the shares Tesla and SpaceX.

However, the tech sell-off overshadows positive economic data from the USA. A surprisingly strong jobs report and good consumer confidence did little to move investors. While the data fueled expectations that the US Federal Reserve could raise interest rates in December, it did not provide any clear impetus to stock prices.

The background to these latest developments are the growing question marks about how the AI ​​hype could continue. After the Democrats' victory in the US midterm elections, investors are wondering whether the political stance towards the technology industry could become stricter. The focus and criticism are on data centers for the AI ​​boom.

They consume a lot of electricity and water, cause noise and could drive up energy prices. There is resistance to new plants in several US states. Higher taxes on the profits of AI companies are also being discussed.

Market analyst Jochen Stanzl from Consorsbank points out another circumstance. “Exactly what investors have been fearing for months has happened on Wall Street: that the cluster risk from a few tech heavyweights will take revenge and drag the major indices down if they fall more sharply,” he comments.

The question is what happens next. Is this really the beginning of a bubble bursting or simply a correction? Financial expert Lisa Hassenzahl from Her Family Office advises staying calm. She doesn't see a bubble bursting at the moment. “But yes, it is a correction and it shows that even with technology stocks, not everything always goes strictly upwards,” says Hassenzahl.

The stock markets are likely to remain volatile in the coming months. Doubts about how quickly the high investments in hardware and data centers will pay off probably remain for the time being.

Not everything could go according to plan at the AI ​​company Anthropic either - the company actually wanted to start the advertising tour for its own IPO next week. But now, according to Reuters, investors are doubting whether the move to the trading floor will work on time. Some also believe the company's trillion dollar valuation is too high.

With these tech concerns, the quarterly figures of several DAX companies could almost have been overlooked in the stock market. The shares of Munich Re and Hannover Re have temporarily come under pressure following downgrades by the US bank JPMorgan. Despite a strong increase in profits in the third quarter, Daimler Truck was apparently unable to satisfy the stock market investors - shares fell significantly, as did arms stocks.