Opposition figure Gotsiridze: US stock market lost $3 trillion after Democrats' election victory

The US stock market lost approximately $3 trillion in market value following the Democrats' sweeping victory in the congressional midterm elections, Georgian opposition politician and former National Bank of Georgia president Roman Gotsiridze said on Monday.

He said the market turmoil could also affect Georgian investors, as thousands of citizens and the country's Pension Fund have exposure to US-listed companies.

Gotsiridze stressed Georgian individuals increasingly invest in American shares through the mobile banking applications of TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia. He also highlighted the Pension Fund's investments in US equities, arguing that developments on Wall Street have become directly relevant to Georgia.

The sell-off on 5 November was led by technology and semiconductor stocks. The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.5%, while the S&P 500 declined 4.4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 3.4%. The Nasdaq 100 alone lost approximately $2.5 trillion in market capitalisation, Reuters said.

Investors were concerned that the Democrats' election victory could lead to tighter regulation of artificial intelligence infrastructure, particularly data-centre construction and expansion. The sector has attracted substantial investment from major technology companies, but growing concerns about energy consumption, infrastructure costs and the returns on AI-related spending have increased uncertainty.

The election gave Democrats control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, creating a divided-government arrangement ahead of the new Congress taking office in January 2027. President Donald Trump blamed the election result for the market decline, claiming in a Truth Social post that the stock market had lost $3 trillion in a single day.

Gotsiridze compared the latest correction with the market turmoil in April 2025, when Trump's announcement of sweeping import tariffs triggered a major sell-off. He noted that the earlier decline was driven primarily by fears of a global trade war, rising inflation and slower economic growth, whereas the latest market reaction is more closely associated with regulatory uncertainty and concerns about the AI investment boom.

However, he argued that the technology sector was already vulnerable to a correction before the election, given high company valuations, substantial capital expenditure and uncertainty over future investment returns. The election result may therefore have acted as an additional negative catalyst rather than being the sole cause of the decline.

Gotsiridze said he expected volatility in technology and AI stocks to persist in the short term, followed by a gradual recovery. He believed investors will increasingly focus on companies' actual revenues, profitability and returns on investment, rather than expectations of future growth.

He added that artificial intelligence retains significant long-term growth potential, although not all companies will be able to justify their current market valuations.

Gotsiridze said political developments could influence short-term market movements, but economic fundamentals, corporate earnings and future revenue prospects would remain the decisive factors in determining long-term market performance.