Traders on the New York Stock Exchange floor (file photo; not from today’s session). Photo: Thomas J. O’Halloran, Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
U.S. stocks were sharply lower at midday on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, wiping out Wednesday’s post-election rally as artificial-intelligence and chip shares led a broad selloff. As of about 12:50 p.m. ET, Yahoo Finance chart data showed the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1,508.38 points, or 2.83%, at 51,847.74, the S&P 500 down 285.49 points, or 3.71%, at 7,403.13, and the Nasdaq Composite down 1,265.64 points, or 4.92%, at 24,470.88. Yahoo Finance’s live markets wrap said the Nasdaq’s roughly 5% drop put the index on track to close in a correction.
From a higher open to a midday rout
The tape flipped hard after a mixed open. The Boston Report’s morning note, citing Reuters opening prints near 9:37 a.m. ET, had the Dow up 330.63 points to 53,686.75 while the Nasdaq fell 0.77% to 25,537.57 on early chip weakness. By midday, that Dow cushion was gone: the industrial average was about 1,839 points below its opening print and more than 1,500 points under Wednesday’s close of 53,356.12. Wednesday’s session had been the Dow’s strongest one-day percentage gain in months after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, according to The Boston Report’s Nov. 4 business report.
AP News, updating near 12:34 p.m. ET, said the S&P 500’s more than 3% slide was on track for its worst drop since April 2025 and that losses in AI data-center stocks were erasing Wednesday’s rebound. Yahoo Finance’s midday live blog likewise reported the Dow tumbling more than 1,200 points earlier in the session before the decline deepened toward 1,500 points, with the PHLX Semiconductor Index down about 11% at one point as Nvidia, Micron and peers sank.
By the numbers: midday vs. Wednesday’s close
TBR calculations from Yahoo Finance prices as of about 12:50 p.m. ET show the breadth of the reversal. The Dow’s 1,508-point loss erased roughly 96% of Wednesday’s 1,569-point surge. The S&P 500’s 285-point drop was more than twice Wednesday’s 120-point gain. The Nasdaq Composite’s 1,266-point decline was about 3.5 times Wednesday’s 365-point advance. Technology ETF XLK was down 7.06%, while the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) fell 9.88% and the PHLX Semiconductor Index (^SOX) dropped 10.56% to 9,184.24.
Sector rotation: tech leads losses as oil climbs
Sector ETFs underlined a risk-off, tech-led session. As of the same ~12:50 p.m. ET snapshot, XLK’s 7.06% drop far outpaced financials ETF XLF (−2.42%). Consumer staples (XLP), utilities (XLU) and energy (XLE) were only modestly lower, down 0.48%, 0.63% and 0.56%, respectively — still the relative outperformers versus growth. Exxon Mobil edged up 0.20% to $169.61 even as the broader energy ETF slipped, consistent with a firm oil tape.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 2.68% to $90.48 a barrel on Yahoo Finance, after Wednesday’s steep decline. Gold futures were up 1.03% near $4,114.80. The Cboe Volatility Index (^VIX) jumped 53.64% to 25.52, signaling a sharp rise in expected equity swings. An earlier noon summary from AInvest had already flagged technology as the worst-performing major sector, down about 6.8% midday, with energy and staples among the few areas holding up better before the selloff broadened.
Yields ease; Friday’s jobs report still ahead
Treasuries offered a partial offset. The 10-year yield, tracked via Yahoo Finance’s ^TNX quote, was at 4.839% as of about 12:35 p.m. ET, down from a prior close of 4.894% — roughly 5.5 basis points lower on the day. That softens from the morning’s near-4.90% area described in The Boston Report’s stock market open wrap. Markets still face Friday’s October employment report, a key input for the Federal Reserve path after this week’s labor and inflation data.
For context on the chip side of today’s tape, Qualcomm remained under pressure after its handset outlook — covered separately in The Boston Report’s Qualcomm earnings note — while Nvidia, AMD and memory names drove the broader semiconductor index lower. AppLovin was a notable gainer, up 27.80% to $347.29 on Yahoo Finance after a strong outlook cited in midday market reports.
What traders are watching into the close
Into the afternoon, the question for Wall Street is whether the Nasdaq can stabilize above correction territory or whether chip and AI-infrastructure losses keep pulling the S&P 500 lower. Oil above $90, a softer 10-year yield, and Friday’s payrolls print will shape the next session’s setup. Readers tracking the broader U.S. economy will also watch how layoff and claims data from this week feed into the jobs report narrative.
AP and Yahoo Finance both tied Thursday’s AI-linked selling to investors reassessing data-center and chip demand after the midterm shift in Congress. That policy debate sits alongside company-specific guidance already pressuring parts of the semiconductor complex. Until those two threads settle, midday levels — Dow near 51,850, S&P near 7,400, Nasdaq near 24,470 — mark a clear break from Wednesday’s relief rally.
Sources
- Yahoo Finance — Stock market today live wrap; Nasdaq correction track; oil near $90 (updated Nov. 5, 2026)
- AP News — Wall Street reels from AI sell-off; S&P 500 slumps more than 3% (Nov. 5, 2026)
- Yahoo Finance chart API — S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq, SOX, WTI, ^TNX, sector ETFs (~12:50 p.m. ET, Nov. 5, 2026)
- AInvest — Noon market summary: Nasdaq −4.855%, technology −6.83% (Nov. 5, 2026)
Additional sources
- The Boston Report — Dow opens up 331; Nasdaq falls 0.77% (Nov. 5 open)
- The Boston Report — Business Report: Wednesday’s closing levels (Nov. 4, 2026)
- TradingNews — Midday index path and semiconductor rout context (Nov. 5, 2026)
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