Wall Street drags European stock markets into the red, Milan holds above 50,000 points

On Thursday, Wall Street saw a combined $3.2 trillion in market capitalisation evaporate, in the worst session since April 2025: the Dow Jones lost 3.4%, the S&P 500 4.4% and the Nasdaq Composite 5.5%. According to Quotidiano Nazionale, the only available source on these figures—and therefore without independent confirmation at this time—the crash is linked to fears that Democrats, following their victories in the U.S. midterms, could slow the development of data centres for artificial intelligence. In the same session, shares of Asian semiconductor manufacturers plunged: Tsmc lost 4.7%, Samsung Electronics 6.4% and SK Hynix 10.4%.

The knock-on effect of that crash was also felt on Friday in Europe, despite a rebound of around one percentage point by the Nasdaq in the following session. Frankfurt closed down 1.92%, London down 1.01% and Paris down 0.81%, according to data released by ANSA. Milan gave up 0.90%, but the Ftse Mib remained above 50,000 points, at 50,052. The spread between Btp and Bund rose back to around 110-111 basis points, after touching a low of 104 on Wednesday.

The heaviest selling was once again recorded in Asia: according to Teleborsa, Tokyo closed at -5.96%, while other sources indicate a drop of around 6% for the Seoul stock exchange as well. Teleborsa attributes the sell-off to artificial intelligence chip manufacturers and concerns over returns on investment in the sector, in line with the reading that had already emerged on Thursday on Wall Street.

The picture emerging from these two consecutive sessions is one of a correction concentrated in the technology sector and in stocks linked to artificial intelligence, triggered in the United States and spreading to the main Asian and European markets, with energy and stocks less exposed to AI relatively more stable. The Ftse Mib, despite the decline, remains the only one among the main European indices cited to have held the psychological threshold of 50,000 points.