AI data-center stocks slide, renewables rally after Democratic US midterm sweep

FILE PHOTO: Data center buildings are under construction during a tour of the OpenAI data center in Abilene, Texas, U.S., September 23, 2025. A total of eight data center buildings are planned to exist on the campus. REUTERS/Shelby Tauber/File Photo

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Data center stocks ⁠slid on Wednesday, while clean-energy shares rallied after Democrats seized control of Congress, prompting investors to reposition for tougher scrutiny of the AI boom and a shift in ⁠policy priorities.

The Democratic sweep, which included victories in traditional Republican strongholds and key data-center hubs Texas and Georgia, will usher in divided government in Washington and ‌raises the prospect of greater congressional oversight of industries that benefited from Republican control.

Market reaction rippled across AI-linked stocks, renewables, healthcare companies, defense contractors and prison operators.

DATA CENTER AND UTILITY STOCKS

Data center operators lost ground, with Applied Digital and CoreWeave down 4.1% and 5.3%, respectively. Cipher Digital slid 14.3%.

The data center boom sparked public backlash this year, raising concerns that tighter Democratic oversight could slow investment just as investors grow wary of soaring AI spending and uncertain ​returns.

Though analysts doubt any legislation could meaningfully stall data center construction, a Democratic-led Congress increases prospects of more hearings ⁠and investigations related to the AI buildout.

"AI has been an enormous engine ⁠powering the US economy, so any curbs on its future development could threaten to put the brakes on growth," said Kit Rees, investment strategist at Quilter.

Utilities and equipment suppliers exposed ⁠to ‌the data-center boom also came under pressure. GE Vernova fell 5.8%, while Constellation Energy and Vistra, among the power companies most exposed to data-center projects in Texas, slid 5% and 9%, respectively.

A Democratic sweep could bolster expectations for continued federal support for clean energy while speeding approvals for energy and infrastructure projects.

Democrats plan to scrutinize the Trump administration's efforts ⁠to roll back emissions rules and could use the Congressional Review Act to overturn regulations that make ​it easier to sell gas-powered trucks and SUVs.

Shares of solar ‌maker First Solar gained 13.8%, residential solar installer Sunrun added 12.5% and inverter maker Enphase Energy was up 10.2%. Clean-power developer NextEra Energy inched 3.7% higher.

"The more ⁠that oil and gas prices rise, ​the bigger the incentive, the bigger the economic incentive to roll out clean energy," said Paul Jackson, global market strategist for EMEA at Invesco.

Europe's Vestas and Orsted rose 2.9% and 4.7%, respectively, while Portugal's EDP Renewables was up 2.3%.

ELON MUSK-LED COMPANIES

Shares of Elon Musk's rocket and space technology company SpaceX dropped 4.6% to its lowest since mid-August, while EV maker Tesla was down 5.7%.

"It puts into doubt a potential merger between SpaceX ⁠and Tesla. While Congress cannot stop a merger, they could slow it down via extra scrutiny," ​said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.

"Musk had poured hundreds of millions into the Republican Party ahead of these elections...we could see stocks linked to Musk struggle now that his political enemies have won back control of Congress."

Trump Media & Technology Group, majority-owned by Trump, dropped 7%.

Defense contractors such as Northrop Grumman fell 2.7%, while RTX, Lockheed Martin and L3Harris lost between 2% and 4% each. The ⁠sector had been underpinned by expectations that the $1.5-trillion budget request by Trump would not face headwinds in a Republican-dominated Congress.

However, analysts expect the funding to fall short of expectations under a Democratic-led Congress.

"A difficult debt ceiling negotiation could delay the spending increases, leaving companies that rely on new government contracts more exposed than those with established ones," said Lale Akoner, global market strategist at etoro.

"The real risk is that spending rises more slowly than anticipated, which will lead to price corrections."

HEALTH INSURERS AND HOSPITAL OPERATORS

Shares of hospital operators such as HCA Healthcare and Universal Health Services ​gained 7.2% and 5.9%, respectively.

Insurers such as Centene rose 4.8% and Molina was up 6.4%.

Democrats have pushed for universal healthcare policies that ⁠could mean more government spending allocated to the sector.

"The outcome would give Congress greater latitude to pursue Democratic healthcare priorities, including reinstating enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies or reversing elements of the GOP's ​Medicaid cuts, such as work requirements," Morgan Stanley analysts write in a note.

"Although we continue to view meaningful healthcare policy ‌changes as unlikely before the next presidential election cycle, the results could shift the policy ​narrative."

Prison operators such as GEO Group and CoreCivic fell 7% and 4.8%, respectively. The two stocks have rallied sharply since Trump won the presidency two years ago, as his clampdown on illegal immigration boosted the need for detention facilities.

(Reporting by Purvi Agarwal and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas and Anil D'Silva)

Thank you for your report!

Technology refresh to bolster Hartalega showing

Copper falls as technology rout and oil surge fuel growth fears

Advance Technologies signs underwriting agreement for ACE Market IPO

资料照片：2025年9月23日，参观位于美国德克萨斯州阿比林的OpenAI数据中心时，可以看到正在建设中的数据中心大楼。该园区计划建造共八座数据中心大楼。路透社/Shelby Tauber/资料照片

11 月 4 日（路透社）——周三，数据中心股票下跌，而清洁能源股票在民主党控制国会后上涨，促使投资者重新调整策略，以应对人工智能热潮受到的更严格审查以及政策重点的转变。

民主党的横扫，包括在传统的共和党堡垒和重要的数据中心中心德克萨斯州和佐治亚州的胜利，将使华盛顿出现分裂的政府，并增加了国会加强对受益于共和党控制的行业的监督的可能性。

市场反应波及人工智能相关股票、可再生能源、医疗保健公司、国防承包商和监狱运营商等行业。

数据中心和公用事业股票

数据中心运营商股价下跌，Applied Digital和CoreWeave分别下跌4.1%和5.3%，Cipher Digital股价暴跌14.3%。

今年数据中心热潮引发了公众的强烈反对，人们担心，民主党加强监管可能会减缓投资，而投资者也对人工智能支出飙升和回报不确定性感到担忧。

尽管分析人士怀疑任何立法都无法真正阻止数据中心的建设，但民主党控制的国会增加了与人工智能建设相关的更多听证会和调查的可能性。

Quilter 的投资策略师 Kit Rees 表示：“人工智能一直是推动美国经济发展的巨大引擎，因此任何对其未来发展的限制都可能威胁到经济增长。”

受数据中心热潮影响的公用事业和设备供应商也面临压力。GE Vernova股价下跌5.8%，而Constellation Energy和Vistra这两家在德克萨斯州数据中心项目方面受影响最大的电力公司，股价分别下跌5%和9%。

民主党若能横扫选举，可能会增强人们对联邦政府继续支持清洁能源的预期，同时加快能源和基础设施项目的审批速度。

民主党人计划仔细审查特朗普政府为推翻排放规则所做的努力，并可能利用《国会审查法》推翻那些使销售汽油动力卡车和SUV更容易的法规。

太阳能制造商First Solar股价上涨13.8%，住宅太阳能安装商Sunrun上涨12.5%，逆变器制造商Enphase Energy上涨10.2%。清洁能源开发商NextEra Energy小幅上涨3.7%。

“石油和天然气价格上涨越多，推广清洁能源的经济动力就越大，”景顺集团欧洲、中东和非洲地区全球市场策略师保罗·杰克逊表示。

欧洲的维斯塔斯(Vestas)和沃旭能源(Orsted)股价分别上涨了2.9%和4.7%，而葡萄牙的EDP Renewables股价上涨了2.3%。

埃隆·马斯克领导的公司

埃隆·马斯克旗下的火箭和太空技术公司 SpaceX 的股价下跌 4.6%，至 8 月中旬以来的最低点，而电动汽车制造商特斯拉的股价下跌了 5.7%。

“这让SpaceX和特斯拉的潜在合并蒙上了阴影。虽然国会无法阻止合并，但他们可以通过额外的审查来延缓合并进程，”XTB研究主管凯瑟琳·布鲁克斯表示。

“在这些选举之前，马斯克向共和党投入了数亿美元……现在他的政治对手重新控制了国会，我们可以看到与马斯克相关的股票正在苦苦挣扎。”

特朗普控股的特朗普媒体与技术集团股价下跌 7%。

国防承包商如诺斯罗普·格鲁曼公司股价下跌2.7%，RTX、洛克希德·马丁和L3Harris的股价跌幅均在2%至4%之间。此前，该板块曾因市场预期特朗普提出的1.5万亿美元预算案在共和党占多数的国会中不会遭遇阻力而受到支撑。

然而，分析人士预计，在民主党主导的国会下，拨款将低于预期。

etoro 全球市场策略师 Lale Akoner 表示：“艰难的债务上限谈判可能会推迟支出增长，使依赖新政府合同的公司比那些拥有现有合同的公司面临更大的风险。”

“真正的风险在于支出增长速度低于预期，这将导致价格回调。”

健康保险公司和医院运营商

HCA Healthcare 和 Universal Health Services 等医院运营商的股价分别上涨了 7.2% 和 5.9%。

Centene等保险公司股价上涨4.8%，Molina股价上涨6.4%。

民主党人一直力推全民医疗保健政策，这可能意味着政府将向该领域分配更多资金。

摩根士丹利分析师在一份报告中写道：“这一结果将使国会在推行民主党医疗保健优先事项方面拥有更大的自由裁量权，包括恢复《平价医疗法案》的强化补贴或扭转共和党削减医疗补助计划的部分内容，例如工作要求。”

“尽管我们仍然认为在下一次总统选举周期之前不太可能出现有意义的医疗保健政策变化，但选举结果可能会改变政策走向。”

监狱运营商GEO集团和CoreCivic的股价分别下跌了7%和4.8%。自特朗普两年前赢得总统大选以来，这两只股票大幅上涨，因为他严厉打击非法移民的政策增加了对拘留设施的需求。

（Purvi Agarwal 和 Johann M Cherian 在班加罗尔报道；Shreya Biswas 和 Anil D'Silva 编辑）

感谢您的报告！

技术升级将提升 Hartalega 的表现

受科技股暴跌和油价飙升引发的经济增长担忧影响，铜价下跌。

Advance Technologies签署ACE市场IPO承销协议