Market Recap: November 18, 2025 — Tech Slide Deepens as Global Risk-Off Mood Intensifies
Overview
Markets closed sharply lower on November 18, 2025, as a tech‑driven selloff accelerated across global equities. Investor anxiety mounted ahead of Nvidia’s highly anticipated earnings report later in the week, while renewed concerns over stretched AI valuations pressured sentiment across risk assets. A wave of red swept through Asia and Europe before hitting U.S. markets, setting the tone for a defensively positioned trading session.
Index Performance
According to data from the Associated Press and Yahoo Finance, major U.S. indexes finished firmly in the red:
- S&P 500: −0.83%
- Nasdaq Composite: −1.21%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: −1.07%
- Bitcoin: briefly dipped below $90,000 before recovering slightly
Source: AP via Yahoo Finance
These declines marked the fourth consecutive down day for the S&P 500, which is now down 3.4% over its recent slide.
Tech-Led Selloff
The technology sector, which has powered index gains for much of 2025, was again the primary drag. Nvidia — the focal point of the AI boom — continued its decline and was the largest weight on the S&P 500.
Reuters reported that the selloff has been “prompted in part by the run-up to Nvidia earnings,” with valuations in AI‑exposed names increasingly under scrutiny. Source: Reuters
Home Depot also pressured the Dow after forecasting a deeper profit drop, raising consumer health concerns. Source: Reuters
Nvidia Earnings Anxiety
Across markets, caution was palpable as traders positioned ahead of Nvidia’s results. CNBC highlighted that the AI leader’s upcoming report is expected to “inform the strength of the AI trade,” with futures slipping as tech continued to unwind. Source: CNBC
Investors appear increasingly concerned that Nvidia’s meteoric rise — which helped pull broader markets higher throughout the year — may be pricing in more growth than the company can deliver. This dynamic has fueled volatility across semiconductor and AI‑linked stocks.