Technology shares diverged on Wednesday after Democrats captured both chambers of Congress in the U.S. midterm elections. The Nasdaq-100 advanced 1.14% to 28,500 after an overnight decline that briefly sent index futures down more than 2%. Investors weighed potentially tighter artificial intelligence regulation against expectations that divided government could restrict major policy changes.
Microsoft rose 6.01% to $552.32 in intraday trading reviewed Wednesday. Alphabet, Google's parent company, gained 4.63% to $292.99. However, Nvidia fell 2.19% to $202.17. Tesla declined 3.61% to $384.10. Intel dropped 5.80% to $57.04. Meta also traded lower.
Software shares advanced, while hardware shares retreated. Nvidia, Tesla and Intel had not yet developed strong bearish trends. Nvidia showed the clearest price correction, but Nvidia's longer-term trend remained bullish as prices tested weak support around $200.
Bitcoin rebounded after an initial selloff linked to the election. Bitcoin traded near $80,512, a daily increase of 4.12%. Bitcoin's return above $80,000 indicated that investors retained some appetite for risk.
The divergent share movements reflected uncertainty about Democratic control of Congress for technology companies that benefited from the Donald Trump administration's deregulation policies. Reuters reported that investors were especially worried about increased scrutiny of AI data centers following Democratic victories in states including Texas and Georgia. Large infrastructure developments have become politically contentious in those states. The AI industry already faced doubts about massive infrastructure expenditure and whether the investments would deliver sufficient returns.
Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates Truth Social, ranked among Wednesday's largest decliners. Trump Media shares fell 14.29% to $5.10, continuing a decline that began well before Democrats won Congress. Trump Media had already lost approximately 55% of the stock's value this year before Tuesday's election. Technical indicators suggested that traders had held bearish views on Trump Media for months. Trump Media has displayed a technical pattern called a "death cross" since March 2025. A death cross occurs when the 200-day average price exceeds the 50-day average price, signaling an excessively rapid loss of value.
The Nasdaq-100 rebound offered encouragement to technology bulls, but the index remained far below October peaks exceeding 31,000. The area around 28,000 provided immediate support. A rise above 29,000 would reinforce the short-term recovery. Wednesday's divergence among technology shares suggested that investors were choosing AI investments more selectively while considering associated political risks.