The semiconductor index lost about 12% Thursday. Investors were weighing what tighter rules for new data centers could mean for the AI buildout.
New Data Center Permits Are the Open Question
The S&P 500 fell 4.4% Thursday, and the Nasdaq dropped 5.5%. Nvidia lost roughly 9%, AMD and Micron fell around 17%, and SanDisk sank more than 20%.
Investors focused on the Democrats’ sweep of the House and Senate. Local ballot measures largely favored restrictions on data centers, while some lawmakers called for pauses or stronger rules on energy use, water, and grid impacts.
Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa said data centers had moved into mostly rural communities without rules to protect Texans. One account of her interview describes a pause on new permits until laws and protections are in place. Under that account, construction could continue at sites that have already started and received all permits.
That leaves the pace of new construction open. Three commentators argue that the AI buildout may continue. They point to spending already committed, the possibility that projects move elsewhere, and rising demand for AI compute. One also points to 30% quarter 3 profit growth and rising quarter 4 guidance. He warns that forced selling by leveraged investors could push stocks lower in the next few days.
A semiconductor skeptic sees weaker AI demand as a risk to Nvidia’s sales and margins. He calls buying chip stocks now gambling, though he acknowledges that the market could recover quickly.
The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.4% Friday after falling 6.4% in the previous session. The rebound does not settle what happens to new permits. Continued building is still an expectation, and the decisions on those permits lie ahead.
Binance’s Breach Tested Its Wallet Controls
Hackers took roughly $6.3 billion from Binance last Thursday, most of it in the first 30 minutes. The FBI and major blockchain analysis firms blamed a North Korean state hacking unit. North Korea denied involvement.
Binance’s initial investigation says malware reached work computers through an AI coding assistant installer and a fake job assignment. It says the hackers then used an internal AI tool to take control of more computers. They reached the wallet signing service, which let transactions bypass the normal withdrawal process.
About an hour and a half into the attack, Binance said customer funds were safe. Fifteen minutes later, its systems added $200 million to a wallet the hackers already controlled. The hackers took that money 72 seconds later.
Binance promised to cover every dollar lost. After withdrawals resumed Sunday morning, customers pulled $4.7 billion, about 3% of assets, according to Reuters.
Binance hopes to recover a bit under half its loss from stablecoins frozen by Tether and Circle. One commentator points out that those issuers can freeze tokens and issue replacements. Part of the response depends on those controls.
Strong Jobs Data Came With Other Pressures
The US added 165,000 jobs in October, compared with 59,000 expected. Unemployment fell to 4.1%, below the 4.2% consensus.
But the number of people working part-time for economic reasons rose by 339,000 to 4.8 million. The jobs figures beat forecasts, while that part of the report moved in a less comfortable direction.
The Treasury announced a $6 billion bond buyback, below Wall Street estimates of $8 billion and $10 billion. The 10-year Treasury yield then rose 0.05 percentage points to just below 4.86%. Higher long-term yields raise borrowing costs for homebuyers and companies.
One commentator says the chance of a Fed rate increase at its December 9 meeting rose from 66.4% before the jobs report to 79.1% afterward. He also says inflation is closer to 6.5% when measured through the money supply. Those are his claims.
President Donald Trump renewed his threat to cut off trade with countries that have surpluses with the US unless the Fed lowers rates. His call for lower rates sits beside a jobs report that beat forecasts and a rise in bond yields.
Meta’s AI Plans, Polestar’s Cash, and Retirement Balances
Meta introduced Muse, a personal AI agent it says can book appointments, fill out forms, and monitor home security camera feeds. It has a free tier and paid plans of $20 or $100 a month, depending on usage.
Meta’s AI chief said Muse asks before taking sensitive actions. Users must opt out if they do not want Meta to use their interactions to train AI models. The launch comes as Meta faces pressure to show returns on its AI spending. The company has also agreed to pay nearly $17 billion to settle a lawsuit brought by state attorneys general.
A skeptical account reports that Polestar lost approximately $2 billion from operations in 2025 and $630 million in the first half of 2026. It says Polestar had $900 million in cash as of June 30, 2026, burned a little over $1 billion of free cash flow in the first six months, and had almost $5 billion of loans due in the next 12 months. That account argues Polestar’s survival depends on further support from its parent company.
Fidelity says the average 401(k) balance rose 10.5% from March through June. Participants in their 30s had an average of $75,200 saved, while those in their 40s had $156,800. Including employer contributions, holders invested an average of 14.4% of their paychecks.