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U.S. stocks reversed Wednesday’s post-election rally on Thursday, with technology and semiconductor shares leading the decline. The Dow fell 2.2%, the S&P 500 dropped 3.3%, and the Nasdaq slid 5% in late trading, while oil prices rose and market volatility spiked.
U.S. stocks fell sharply Thursday, reversing the gains from the previous day’s post-election rally as investors sold technology, AI and chip shares. In figures reported at 5:37 p.m. GMT+1, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.2%, the S&P 500 had fallen 3.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite was lower by 5%.
The decline followed a mixed opening and accelerated as the session progressed. An earlier update from Yahoo Finance had the Dow up 0.6%, the S&P 500 down 0.3% and the Nasdaq down 1%. By a later update, the Nasdaq was down about 4%, the S&P 500 had lost 2.3%, and the Dow was off more than 700 points. The closing status of the indexes is not given in the available report.
Semiconductor shares took especially heavy losses. The PHLX Semiconductor index fell 11% in the late-day figures, while Nvidia, Micron and other chip companies sank. A Yahoo Finance update said Nvidia shares were down more than 6%, Micron more than 12%, and AMD more than 13% at that point in the session. The report said the early sell-off had erased roughly $2 trillion in market capitalization across stocks, but did not specify the calculation method or precise group of companies included.
The market reversal also coincided with a sharp increase in expected volatility. Yahoo Finance reported that the CBOE Volatility Index, commonly known as the VIX, rose more than 65% to as high as 27.45. Shay Boloor, chief market strategist at Futurum Equities, described it as Wall Street’s biggest one-day jump in the gauge in more than two years. Oil rose as investors weighed uncertainty over whether President Donald Trump would pursue a deal with Iran to end the Middle East war; Brent crude traded around $97 a barrel and U.S. benchmark WTI around $90, according to the report.
The scale and speed of the retreat put the focus on how quickly market sentiment can change after a major political event. Wednesday’s rally reflected relief among some investors after the election, but Thursday’s losses showed that the result did not settle questions about how a new balance of power in Washington could affect economic policy, corporate investment and regulation.
The decline was concentrated in technology and chip stocks, sectors that have been closely tied to enthusiasm about AI and data-center spending. Their losses weighed heavily on the Nasdaq, though the available report does not establish a single cause for the sell-off. A falling market can affect retirement accounts and other investments, but one session alone does not establish a longer-term trend. The VIX jump offered another sign that investors were bracing for greater near-term price swings.
Higher oil prices added a separate source of concern. The source linked the rebound to uncertainty surrounding possible U.S. diplomacy with Iran, rather than reporting that a change in policy or supply had occurred. Energy prices can influence inflation expectations and business costs, but the report does not quantify any effect from Thursday’s move.
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Election Rally Meets New Questions
U.S. shares rose Wednesday after Democrats won both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, according to the Yahoo Finance report. That rally followed relief among investors that election uncertainty had eased. By Thursday, market participants were still considering what the change in control could mean for the economy and specific industries. Those possible effects were being discussed in the market, but the source does not report that any new laws or policy changes had already taken effect.
Technology and chip shares were among the weak performers as investors reassessed prospects for AI infrastructure spending and regulation. Other company news moved in the opposite direction: AppLovin rose 23% in premarket trading after reporting third-quarter revenue and earnings above analyst estimates and issuing a stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue forecast. The contrast shows that the market was not moving uniformly, even as broad indexes fell.
Economic data also remained on investors’ agenda. Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that planned layoffs in October fell to their lowest level since 2023, according to the source. The report said investors were looking ahead to Friday’s employment report; it did not provide the results of that report.
Closing Levels and Policy Outlook
The supplied report gives intraday figures and a late update, but does not state the final closing levels for the Dow, S&P 500 or Nasdaq. It also does not identify a confirmed single trigger for the sell-off; political uncertainty, AI-related concerns and chip-stock declines appear in the report as market context, not as a definitive causal finding.
It remains unclear how investors will translate the Democratic victories into expectations for legislation, regulation or federal spending, including policy affecting AI and cryptocurrency. The source also does not report a U.S. decision to pursue or reject an Iran deal. Its oil-price account describes uncertainty about that possibility, not a confirmed shift in policy.
Investors Await Jobs Data
The next scheduled data point highlighted in the report is Friday’s employment report, which investors were preparing to assess alongside October’s layoff-planning figures. The source provides no forecast or later employment results, so the effect of the release on markets cannot yet be stated.
Investors will also continue to watch trading in technology and semiconductor shares, oil prices and signals about the incoming congressional agenda. The report mentions earnings from companies including Duke Energy, Airbnb and Lumentum, as well as AppLovin’s results, but does not establish how those events will affect the broader market. Whether Thursday’s decline persists or gives way to another rebound remains unknown.
Key Questions
How much did the major U.S. stock indexes fall?
In Yahoo Finance’s late update, the Dow was down 2.2%, the S&P 500 was down 3.3%, and the Nasdaq was down 5%. These are intraday figures; the supplied report does not give closing levels.
What drove the market decline?
The report says AI, technology and semiconductor shares sold off as investors continued weighing the election’s potential market and economic implications. It does not establish one confirmed cause for the broader decline.
Which shares or sectors were hit hardest?
The PHLX Semiconductor index fell 11% in the late-day figures. The report also cited steep losses for Nvidia, Micron and AMD in an earlier update, with the exact figures tied to that point in the session.
Did the post-election rally end?
Thursday’s sell-off erased the gains from Wednesday’s rally, according to Yahoo Finance. That describes the reported move over those sessions and does not establish what markets will do next.
What market developments are coming next?
The report pointed to Friday’s employment report as the next key data release for investors. It also said markets would continue to weigh earnings, election-related policy questions, technology shares and oil prices.
Source: finance.yahoo.com
