US Midterm Elections Trigger Tech Selloff; Nasdaq Plunges Over 5%

The scale of the tech drawdown, with the chip index's double-digit slide far outpacing the broader Nasdaq, points to a concentrated repricing of semiconductor exposure rather than a broad risk-off move—gold and Treasuries behaving as havens reinforces that read. The timing around the midterms makes the political signal hard to separate from underlying rate anxiety, especially with the Bank of England hiking and Fed commentary still leaning restrictive. Whether the chip complex stabilizes independently of the wider index is the open question, and the VIX spike suggests positioning is being reset rather than repriced calmly.