Nvidia's $35 Billion Order Book Fails to Calm AI Jitters Weighing on Vanguard's All-World Fund
Published on 10/23/2026 at 12:50 | Editorial boerse-global.de
The Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (USD Accumulation) is nursing a modest pullback, trading at €168.94 on Friday, down 0.2% from Thursday's close of €169.22. That leaves the global tracker 2.9% shy of its 52-week high of €174.00, set on 7 October — a peak that is looking increasingly distant as two forces squeeze equity markets from opposite directions.
At the heart of the unease sits the artificial intelligence trade. Quarterly results from Meta Platforms and Tesla did little to dispel doubts about whether the billions being poured into AI infrastructure will ever pay off, according to Reuters. The scepticism hit growth and technology names hard on Thursday, with Nvidia shedding 4.4% in that session and Meta Platforms tumbling 8%. Because both rank among the largest constituents of the FTSE All-World index, the damage fed straight through to the fund.
A flood of Nvidia news cuts both ways
The paradox dogging Nvidia is that its business momentum has rarely looked stronger. Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have ordered more than 3 million RTX-PRO-5500 graphics cards at a combined list price above $35 billion — demand the chipmaker may not be able to fully satisfy. The company also landed a deal with AI cloud startup Modal, which will use Nvidia's Vera chip, and widened a partnership with European manufacturers including Germany's Agile Robots, slated to build 1,000 to 2,000 humanoid robots next year.
None of it was enough to settle investors' nerves about how AI spending converts into earnings. Nvidia functions as the bellwether for the entire sector, so any wobble in the stock ripples disproportionately through broad index funds like this one.
Other heavyweights added to the drag. Microsoft stepped back from an agreement to anchor Nscale's Loughton data centre after delays to a power connection pushed the planned supply into the 2030s, though it said it remains committed to the wider partnership. Apple drew a downgrade from Loop Capital, which cut its rating from "Buy" to "Hold" and trimmed its price target to $330 from $370 on concerns about iPhone demand. A company that previously won a $5.7 billion patent damages case against Apple is also seeking additional damages and interest in federal court.
Oil and Iran add a second front
While the AI debate rumbles on, the Iran conflict is pushing crude higher. Brent jumped 4% on Thursday, per AP, as the timeline for normalising global energy supply remains murky. Costlier oil stokes inflation worries, which in turn shape expectations for monetary policy — extra headwinds for equities.
The combination of geopolitical risk and rate anxiety explains why the ETF has stalled despite a strong run. Its RSI of 44.2 points to neutral-to-slightly-cooled sentiment following a hefty advance earlier in the year.
Friday's session brought a mixed picture across global markets, AP reported: some Asian bourses clawed back early losses, but the overall tone stayed uneven. Investors now turn to preliminary purchasing managers' indices for manufacturing and services, flagged by kiplinger.com's economic calendar, for clues on business activity and cost pressures — data that carry extra weight given the tension in oil and inflation.
The long view still favours the tracker
Set against the recent softness, the fund's longer-term record holds up. It is up 16% year to date and 18% over twelve months, and its spread across thousands of holdings across regions and sectors cushions individual shocks — though it cannot fully insulate investors from a technology-led selloff given the index's heavy US tech weighting.
Whether the doubts over AI valuations and energy prices harden in the sessions ahead, or whether the recovery stirring in Asia carries over to Western markets, is the question now facing holders.
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