Wall St slumps as sharp tech losses put Nasdaq on course for correction

On Thursday, November 4, 2026, US stocks experienced a sharp decline, with the Nasdaq on the brink of entering correction territory. The decline was primarily driven by steep losses in chip and data center-related stocks, following the Democrats' sweeping midterm election victory, which had initially driven a broad-based rally. Qualcomm suffered a 9% drop after missing Wall Street estimates for smartphone chip sales, while the broader semiconductor index fell 7.1%, with Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, and Marvell Technology leading the decline.

Data center operators IREN, Hut 8, and Applied Digital also saw losses between 6% and 11%, as public opposition to the industry's rapid expansion grew in key data-center states following the Democratic victory. Large-cap tech stocks, including Meta Platforms, Amazon.com, and Alphabet, also experienced losses after Wednesday's rally.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 351.87 points, the S&P 500 lost 127.74 points, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 795.08 points. Five of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were in negative territory, with the tech sector and consumer discretionary leading the decline. The benchmark experienced its biggest one-day percentage gain in three months on Wednesday due to easing political uncertainty, but a divided government could lead to fewer sharp legislative changes and make it harder to agree on fiscal spending amid the US's deteriorating fiscal picture.

The Fed's stance on inflation and interest rates remained a focus, with central banks acknowledging elevated inflation due to the Middle East conflict.