Tech Stocks Slide as Wall Street Eyes Democrat-Controlled Senate

Shares of large technology companies including Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook fell in pre-market trading Wednesday, as the Senate runoff races in Georgia were leaning toward giving Democrats control of the chamber — raising concern among investors over the prospect of new regulatory actions against tech giants.

Facebook stock was down 2.9% before the bell, Amazon and Apple were -2%, and Alphabet (parent of Google) was -1.9%. Futures for the tech-centric Nasdaq were off 1.6% before the market open while Dow futures were flat.

For tech investors, the prospect of a Democrat-controlled Senate is “a clear negative,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote in a research note.

Early Wednesday, Rev. Raphael Warnock was announced as the projected winner of the first of the two senate runoff elections in Georgia, making him the state’s first Black senator. The contest between incumbent GOP Sen. David Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff remained too close to call, although Ossoff held a slim lead.

“[U]ltimately with a Senate now likely controlled by Democrats we would expect much more scrutiny and sharper teeth around FAANG [Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google] names with potential (although still a low risk) legislative changes to current anti-trust laws now on the table,” Ives wrote.