New Delhi, 08 November (H.S.): Major global markets remained highly volatile throughout the week, influenced by the outcome of the US midterm elections and a sharp sell-off in technology stocks. On Wall Street, the Democrats’ takeover of both chambers of Congress reduced some political uncertainty. However, concerns that stricter regulations could be imposed on artificial intelligence (AI) unsettled investors.
These concerns triggered the steepest sell-off in major chipmaking and semiconductor companies in 19 months. The resulting weakness dragged down the major US indices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week at 51,277.11, registering a weekly decline of 3.44 per cent. The S&P 500 fell 4.36 per cent to 7,376.92, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.52 per cent to close at 24,579.43.
Amid the sharp downturn in US markets, European equities also remained subdued throughout the week. Germany’s DAX index declined 1.92 per cent to settle at 25,820.36. The UK's FTSE index shed 108.72 points to close at 10,673.94. In contrast, France’s CAC index managed to recover from the prevailing weakness and ended the week with a modest gain of 0.81 per cent at 8,139.
The turbulence in international markets prompted investors to move away from riskier assets, with the impact also extending to Asian markets.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
