London (AFP) - Technology shares plunged Friday after an unnerving rout on Wall Street as fears grew that Democrats would ratchet up a backlash against AI after their wave of wins in the US midterm elections.

Investors welcomed a partial recovery for the tech-heavy Nasdaq after its plunge on Thursday, which sent Asian and European markets tumbling, though the Dow slipped further.

But the Nasdaq technically entered a correction after dropping more than 10 percent over the past month, raising doubts about the eventual payoff from massive AI investments.

And if tougher US regulation of the AI data centre rollout emerges from the defeat of President Donald Trump’s Republicans this week, market players could turn even more wary.

“The market is hoping to hit a reset button today, yet the path ahead is anything but clear,” said Briefing.com strategist Patrick O’Hare.

Rising interest rates would further complicate the calculus for tech firms that have propelled markets worldwide over a four-year bull run.

“Big worries are colliding – the build-out of data centres looks set to slow, which risks shredding the spending spree underpinning the boom, right at the time that investors have become super nervous about returns on this massive investment,” said Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club.

The Tokyo and Seoul stock markets closed out their weeks with losses of six percent following the Nasdaq’s 5.5 percent collapse on Thursday, its worst showing since April last year when Trump unveiled his wide-ranging global tariffs.

On Seoul’s Kospi stocks index, chip giant SK hynix slumped 10 percent and its rival Samsung lost 6.4 percent.

The London, Paris and Frankfurt stock markets remained down around two percent, despite featuring few technology firms.

Elsewhere, the dollar firmed after US data showed the economy created 165,000 new jobs in October, far exceeding analysts’ expectations, with the unemployment rate dipping to 4.1 percent.

That further boosted expectations of a further Federal Reserve rate hike to cool inflation in the world’s biggest economy, which could also weigh on growth.

- Key figures at around 1500 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 51,326.56 points

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.7 percent at 7,406.43

New York - Nasdaq: UP 1.5 percent at 24,670.60

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.6 percent at 10,610.08

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.2 percent at 8,105.16

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 2.3 percent at 25,714.09

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 6.0 percent at 57,434.77 (close)

Seoul - Kospi: DOWN 6.0 percent at 5,059.69 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.3 percent at 24,481.86 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.1 percent at 3,649.18 (close)

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.5 percent at $97.78 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $90.60 per barrel

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1155 from $1.1222 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3367 from $1.3454

Dollar/yen: UP at 158.25 yen from 157.83 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 83.46 pence from 83.41 pence