US stocks gave back part of Wednesday's powerful post-midterm rally on Thursday, November 5, 2026, as a sharp sell-off in semiconductor and artificial-intelligence stocks pulled the technology-heavy Nasdaq sharply lower while the Dow held up comparatively better.
By late in Thursday's session, the Nasdaq Composite was down about 4.8% at roughly 24,484, the S&P 500 had fallen about 3.1% to around 7,451, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off about 1.1% at roughly 52,737, according to market coverage during the session. The declines came just one day after all three major indexes had surged.
Wednesday had been one of the strongest sessions of the year. The Dow soared 1,569.40 points, or 3.0%, to close at 53,356.12, its best day since April 2025. The S&P 500 gained 119.70 points, or 1.6%, to 7,688.62, and the Nasdaq Composite added 364.50 points, or 1.4%, to 25,736.51. The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge, fell 20.3% to 16.61.
Chip stocks led Thursday's retreat. Advanced Micro Devices tumbled about 13.85%, Micron Technology fell about 12.38%, Lam Research dropped about 11.27%, Marvell Technology declined about 11.25%, Qualcomm slid about 10.20%, Intel lost about 8.19%, TSMC dropped about 7.99%, and Nvidia slid about 6.59%.
Analysts pointed to three forces behind the reversal. First, investors took profits after Wednesday's outsized gains. Second, the Democratic sweep of both chambers of Congress raised expectations of tougher regulation on artificial intelligence and data centers — and voters approved nearly every data-center moratorium on Tuesday's ballots. Third, oil prices kept sliding, with Brent crude falling below $100 a barrel for the first time in nearly a month and US crude down more than 8% on Wednesday to about $88.12.
Traders now turn to Friday's October jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, for the next big signal on the economy and interest rates.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice.
Sources: Zacks, The Economic Times, NDTV Profit, Reuters, The Business Times
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