US Stock Market Wipes Out About $2 Trillion in First Hour of Thursday Trading, Chip and AI Stocks Lead Decline

US stocks lost roughly $2 trillion in market value within an hour of Thursday's open, with the S&P 500 falling more than 3% intraday—the worst drop since April 2025—and the Nasdaq sliding into correction territory. The sell-off was driven by Democratic victories in Congress that may slow AI data center construction, Qualcomm's 26% decline in handset chip revenue, and growing doubts about AI spending returns. Nvidia, AMD, and Micron led chip losses, while South Korea's Kospi fell 5.3%.