Reported by BBC Business
Major tech firms have seen their stock values fall after a sell-off by investors following the US midterm elections.
The fall in the value of their shares across the world has been blamed on an expectation of a slowdown in AI development, although it comes after sharp rises over recent years.
As companies grow, they may issue shares. Many of the largest companies in the UK have shares which are bought and sold on the London Stock Exchange.
More from the original report
Their collective performance is often quoted amid a blizzard of numbers that may feel confusing and irrelevant.
Booms or falls in the stock market make the news, but rarely does anyone mention the FTSE 100 during a coffee with friends.
Yet, there are good reasons why this performance affects your life and finances.
Many people's initial reaction to "the markets" is that they are not directly affected, because they do not invest money.
Yet there are millions of people with a pension - either private or through work - who will see their savings (in what is known as a defined contribution pension) invested by pension schemes. The value of their savings pot is influenced by the performance of these investments.
Pension savers mostly let experts choose where to invest this money to help it grow. Widespread falls in share prices are likely to be bad news for pension savers.
Hundreds of billions of pounds are held in defined contribution pensions at the moment.
So big rises or falls can affect your pension, but the advice is to remember that pension savings, like any investments, are usually a long-term bet.
Experts say that investors have always had to ride economic shocks. Investments, by definition, require a long-term outlook and strategy. So, they are urging people not to panic in such circumstances or make knee-jerk decisions.
Some people have a pension which promises a specific value, depending on their salary. Others have no pension at all.
Millions of people have been automatically enrolled into a pension and may have not really noticed. Those schemes see employers divert wages into a pension and contribute…