Oracle's drop dragged other AI-related stocks lower, as well. Some of the worst performers on the Nasdaq 100 index included chipmakers such as Broadcom and Arm Holdings, which were both down around 5%. The Nasdaq Composite also slid more than 1.8%. The S&P 500 fell 1.2%.

Artificial intelligence has been a significant driver of the stock market over the past three years.

The AI trade is unwinding — with investors increasingly worried about debt raising by companies like Oracle and CoreWeave used to finance AI data-center buildouts.

Heavy borrowing by CoreWeave and Oracle to build more AI data center capacity is spooking bond markets and debt insurance prices are soaring.

Oracle ( ORCL 5.46%) stock fell as much as 16.5% on Dec. 11 in response to the company's second-quarter fiscal 2026 results. Now, at the time of this writing, Oracle is down roughly 42% from its 52-week high, which was made just three months ago.

We see 2026 as the year that investors begin to shift their focus from hardware to software positions,” an HSBC analyst wrote.

Shares of Oracle fell sharply on Wednesday after a report raised fresh questions about financing for one of the company’s flagship artificial intelligence infrastructure projects.

Shares of nuclear power companies sell off as Wall Street digests negative headlines on Oracle and OpenAI's "Stargate" supercomputer project.

Oracle spooks the stock market after key partner refuses to fund $10B Michigan data center project - SiliconANGLE

US tech stocks fell on Wednesday, as news that Oracle has lost a key backer for a data centre project reignited investor concerns over soaring spending by artificial intelligence companies and the debt that is funding it.