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IrelandBassanese questions tech sell-off as bonds offer a cushion
The economist sees an overreaction to Democratic election gains, while explaining how the retreat from AI-linked shares reaches Australian miners.
AustraliaStory of Why this story? One of ABC News (Australia)'s most watched videos since yesterday, with 36,981 views.
ABC News (Australia): The news division of the ABC, Australia's public broadcaster. 2.6M subscribers and 1.7B views.
$US2.5 trillion Nasdaq sell-off spreads across Asia | The Business | ABC NEWS
Things we can learn from the video
Press to jump
- 0:23Bassanese links market swings to uncertainty about data centre spending and possible restrictions following Democratic election gains.
- 1:50Asian AI suppliers and Australian resource producers face exposure to the same technology investment cycle.
- 3:25He argues earnings multiples remain well below dot-com-era extremes, supporting his view that the sell-off is excessive.
- 5:56The discussion turns to US-Iran tensions, military risks and the implications for oil prices and inflation.
- 7:43Australian equities face domestic pressures from persistent inflation and Reserve Bank interest-rate policy.
- 9:05Bassanese says falling bond yields show bonds provided a hedge during the technology share sell-off.
Bonds provided some protection as technology shares fell sharply, according to economist David Bassanese, who questions whether investors are reading too much into the US election result.
Speaking to Alicia Barry on The Business, from Australia's Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the Betashares chief economist describes markets as being whipsawed by Democratic gains. Investors, he says, are reassessing data centre spending and the possibility of tighter restrictions under a changed political landscape.
The programme reports that the Nasdaq plunged 5.5%, wiping US$2.5 trillion from the index's value and taking it into correction territory. But Bassanese regards the technology sell-off as an overreaction, arguing that broader market fundamentals remain solid. His view offers a different interpretation from the valuation concerns examined in the broadcaster's separate interview with Roger Montgomery.
Bassanese traces the Asian declines through the AI supply chain: South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei have exposure to the companies supplying the computing boom. Australia's share market has a much smaller technology component, but that does not leave it untouched. Data centres require copper and steel, connecting spending on computing infrastructure to resources companies.
On valuations, he puts forward earnings multiples at around 20 times, against roughly 60 during the dot-com bubble. That comparison underpins his argument that today's prices are not at the same extremes. "Look, the reality is that AI is not going away," he says.
The conversation also considers risks beyond technology. Bassanese discusses fragile US-Iran tensions and the possibility of further military action, then examines how Middle East conflict can feed into oil prices and inflation. For Australia, persistent inflation and Reserve Bank interest-rate policy remain part of the investment picture.
Finally, he points to falling bond yields during the sell-off as evidence that bonds served as a hedge. In his account, the retreat from technology shares did not mean every part of an investment portfolio moved down together.
The Reserve Bank of Australia is Australia’s central bank and the authority responsible for issuing its banknotes.
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Where next?
- Channel
- ABC News (Australia)
- Subscribers
- 2,640,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 13,178,225
- Channel views, pace per day
- 2,608,704 (on a normal day: 1,478,465)
- Video published
- November 6, 2026
- Video views so far
- 36,981 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 38,501
The numbers
The interview drew roughly 37,000 views since yesterday, placing it among Australia's most-watched new news uploads.
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