{"id":73433,"date":"2026-10-22T09:38:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T13:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/tech-selloff-and-ai-spending-concerns-drag-markets-lower\/73433\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T09:38:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T13:38:19","slug":"tech-selloff-and-ai-spending-concerns-drag-markets-lower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/tech-selloff-and-ai-spending-concerns-drag-markets-lower\/73433\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech Selloff and AI Spending Concerns Drag Markets Lower"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/tech-selloff-and-ai-spending-concerns-drag-markets-lower\/73433\/#Key_Takeaways\" >Key Takeaways<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/tech-selloff-and-ai-spending-concerns-drag-markets-lower\/73433\/#Meta_Shares_Plunge_on_Spending_and_Legal_Headwinds\" >Meta Shares Plunge on Spending and Legal Headwinds<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/tech-selloff-and-ai-spending-concerns-drag-markets-lower\/73433\/#Google_and_Voltus_Scale_Virtual_Power_Plant_to_1-GW\" >Google and Voltus Scale Virtual Power Plant to 1-GW<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/tech-selloff-and-ai-spending-concerns-drag-markets-lower\/73433\/#Tech-Led_Selloff_Hits_Major_US_Indexes\" >Tech-Led Selloff Hits Major U.S. Indexes<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/tech-selloff-and-ai-spending-concerns-drag-markets-lower\/73433\/#Gaming_Sector_Boosted_by_GTA_VI_Momentum\" >Gaming Sector Boosted by &#39;GTA VI&#39; Momentum<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/tech-selloff-and-ai-spending-concerns-drag-markets-lower\/73433\/#Germany_Revises_Tax_Revenue_Projections_Upward\" >Germany Revises Tax Revenue Projections Upward<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_Takeaways\"><\/span>Key Takeaways<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Meta Platforms (<a href=\"\/stock\/META\">META<\/a>) shares tumbled 5.4%<\/strong> in intraday trading, marking their sharpest decline since July, as investors reacted to rising capital expenditure and a massive legal charge despite strong revenue growth.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Google (<a href=\"\/stock\/GOOGL\">GOOGL<\/a>) and Voltus<\/strong> announced a landmark agreement to build a <strong>1-gigawatt (GW) virtual power plant<\/strong>, expanding their partnership tenfold to support data center growth and grid reliability.<\/li>\n<li><strong>U.S. equity indexes opened sharply lower<\/strong>, with the <strong>Nasdaq Composite dropping 1.55%<\/strong> as a broader technology selloff, fueled by AI spending concerns and Middle East tensions, overshadowed positive earnings.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sony (<a href=\"\/stock\/SONY\">SONY<\/a>) PlayStation 5 sales surged 22%<\/strong> in units, driven by massive anticipation for the upcoming release of <em>Grand Theft Auto VI<\/em>, which has already secured over <strong>$630 million in digital pre-orders<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Germany&#39;s tax revenue projections<\/strong> for 2026-2030 were revised upward by <strong>\u20ac43.4 billion<\/strong>, signaling a stronger-than-expected fiscal outlook despite broader European economic stagnation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Meta_Shares_Plunge_on_Spending_and_Legal_Headwinds\"><\/span>Meta Shares Plunge on Spending and Legal Headwinds<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Meta Platforms (<a href=\"\/stock\/META\">META<\/a>) saw its stock price drop <strong>5.4%<\/strong> on Thursday, its largest intraday decline in nearly three months. While the company reported a <strong>26% increase in revenue<\/strong> to <strong>$64.6 billion<\/strong>, investors were spooked by a narrowed but still massive <strong>2026 capital expenditure forecast of $135 billion to $145 billion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The selloff was further exacerbated by a <strong>$9.89 billion legal charge<\/strong> related to a New Mexico ruling, which caused operating income to miss consensus estimates. Despite the dip, CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted the success of the <strong>Muse AI assistant<\/strong>, noting that over a quarter of its users are already utilizing the tool for e-commerce transactions.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Google_and_Voltus_Scale_Virtual_Power_Plant_to_1-GW\"><\/span>Google and Voltus Scale Virtual Power Plant to 1-GW<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Google (<a href=\"\/stock\/GOOGL\">GOOGL<\/a>) has significantly expanded its energy partnership with Voltus to develop a <strong>1-gigawatt (GW) virtual power plant (VPP)<\/strong> within the PJM grid region. This new agreement builds upon an initial 100-megawatt pilot and is designed to help Google manage the immense power demands of its <strong>AI-driven data centers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The VPP will aggregate distributed energy resources, such as residential batteries and smart thermostats, across 13 states. This &quot;Bring Your Own Capacity&quot; model allows Google to fund grid reliability while providing <strong>direct financial benefits and bill savings<\/strong> to participating homes and businesses.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tech-Led_Selloff_Hits_Major_US_Indexes\"><\/span>Tech-Led Selloff Hits Major U.S. Indexes<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The broader market faced significant pressure at the opening bell, with the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/dowjones\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Dow Jones Today\">Dow Jones<\/a> Industrial Average falling 230.12 points (0.44%)<\/strong> to <strong>52,625.97<\/strong>. The tech-heavy <strong>Nasdaq Composite shed 412.82 points (1.55%)<\/strong>, while the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/sp500\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"snp500 today\">S&amp;P 500<\/a> declined 0.92%<\/strong> to <strong>7,685.88<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Market sentiment was weighed down by a combination of <em>resurfacing doubts regarding the immediate ROI of AI investments<\/em> and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Crude <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/energy\/crude-oil\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"12\" title=\"Crude oil\">oil prices<\/a> also spiked, with <strong>Brent crude rising 2.03% to $111.03<\/strong>, adding further inflationary pressure to the global outlook.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Gaming_Sector_Boosted_by_GTA_VI_Momentum\"><\/span>Gaming Sector Boosted by &#39;GTA VI&#39; Momentum<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Sony (<a href=\"\/stock\/SONY\">SONY<\/a>) reported a <strong>22% jump in PlayStation 5 unit sales<\/strong>, largely attributed to the &quot;halo effect&quot; of Rockstar Games&#39; upcoming <em>Grand Theft Auto VI<\/em>. The title, published by Take-Two Interactive (<a href=\"\/stock\/TTWO\">TTWO<\/a>), has already reached <strong>6.45 million digital pre-orders<\/strong>, with roughly <strong>74% of those buyers<\/strong> opting for the PlayStation platform over Xbox.<\/p>\n<p>The surge in hardware sales comes as Rockstar prepares for a <strong>November 19 launch<\/strong>, with analysts predicting the game could generate over <strong>$3 billion in revenue<\/strong> within its first four months. The high demand for the <strong>$99.99 Ultimate Edition<\/strong> has surprised market trackers, representing nearly 90% of all pre-orders.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Germany_Revises_Tax_Revenue_Projections_Upward\"><\/span>Germany Revises Tax Revenue Projections Upward<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The German Ministry of Finance announced that tax experts now expect <strong>\u20ac43.4 billion more in revenue<\/strong> through 2030 than previously forecast in May. For the year 2026 alone, the council of experts projects total tax collections to reach approximately <strong>\u20ac379.1 billion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>This fiscal upgrade provides a much-needed cushion for the German government as it navigates <strong>increased defense spending<\/strong>, which is set to reach <strong>\u20ac83 billion in 2026<\/strong>. However, officials warned that despite the higher revenue, the country still faces a significant funding gap for critical infrastructure and climate neutrality projects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Meta Platforms (META) shares tumbled 5.4% in intraday trading, marking their sharpest decline since July, as investors reacted 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