Business Report: Dow Plunges 1,833 Points as Nasdaq Falls Into Correction on AI Rout, Nov. 5, 2026

This business report for November 5, 2026 covers a brutal Thursday on Wall Street. One day after a post-election rally, U.S. stocks suffered their worst session since April 2025 as investors dumped artificial intelligence and chip shares, the Nasdaq slid into a correction, oil bounced back, the Bank of England raised rates and Wendy’s turned away a buyout bid.

AI Stocks Crash and the Nasdaq Enters a Correction

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,833.06 points, or 3.44%, to 51,523.06, more than wiping out Wednesday’s post-election gain, according to CNBC. The S&P 500 lost 4.36% to 7,353.73, and the Nasdaq Composite sank 5.52% to 24,315.00. That left the tech-heavy index more than 10% below last month’s record, the textbook definition of a correction. The small-cap Russell 2000 dropped 4.45% and also entered a correction. All three major averages had their worst day since April 2025. A Financial Times headline put the day’s damage on Wall Street at $3.2 trillion.

The trigger was politics. Investors fear that the Democratic sweep in the midterm elections could slow the build-out of AI data centers. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, posted on X: “National data center moratorium now.” Texas Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa campaigned on a moratorium on new data center approvals, and Texas holds 27% of planned U.S. data center capacity, according to Wells Fargo figures cited by CNBC.

Chipmakers took the worst of it. Broadcom fell 10% and Nvidia 9%, and the iShares Semiconductor ETF dropped more than 12%. Qualcomm slid 9% on a weak outlook despite beating estimates. Cloud-computing firm CoreWeave lost almost 10%. The selling then spread: Caterpillar fell 6% and JPMorgan 4%. “The rubber band is becoming increasingly stretched,” said Keith Lerner, chief investment officer at Truist Wealth. Wall Street’s fear gauge, the Cboe Volatility Index, briefly hit 28.09, its highest since March 31. The Boston Report tracked the slide as it happened in its midday Nasdaq correction report.

Musk’s Companies Lose $456 Billion in Two Days

Tesla dropped about 9% and SpaceX about 11% Thursday afternoon. By the close, the two Elon Musk companies had lost about $456 billion in combined market value since Tuesday, CNBC reported. Musk gave more than $470 million to Republican candidates and causes in the midterms, and most of the candidates he backed lost. Deutsche Bank analysts wrote that SpaceX could face “incremental headwinds” and that its Texas computing capacity could be delayed.

The American Prospect framed the vote as a revolt against big money. In Ohio, it reported, voters passed all 15 local measures limiting data centers and rejected all six that would have allowed them. Across the country, 46 data center measures were on the ballot, and most set new limits. Montana voters also backed Initiative 194, which bars corporations from funding state campaigns, with more than 65% of the vote.

Oil Rebounds as Tanker Attacks Continue

Crude prices bounced back after Wednesday’s 8% plunge. Brent rose 3.8% to $98.29 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained 2.7% to $90.52, CNBC reported. New attacks on ships in the Gulf drove the rebound: the UK maritime agency UKMTO has counted at least five incidents since Sunday. Eurasia Group warned that any escalation of the Iran war could push Brent to $110 to $125.

Bonds rallied as investors looked for safety. The 10-year Treasury yield fell more than 5 basis points to 4.839%, and the 2-year yield dropped more than 11 basis points to 4.466%. Gold futures touched $4,155.80 an ounce, the highest since Oct. 22, helped by a weaker dollar.

Bank of England Hikes; Wendy’s Says No to Peltz

The Bank of England raised its key rate a quarter point to 4%, its first hike since August 2023. The vote was 8 to 1, and the lone dissenter wanted a half-point move. Policymakers said they expect British inflation to reach about 5% by mid-2027 because of energy costs tied to the war in the Middle East. The 10-year gilt yield rose to about 5.15%.

In corporate news, Wendy’s rejected a $1.4 billion, $7.35-a-share takeover offer from a group led by Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management. The board said the bid “substantially undervalues” the burger chain and adopted a one-year poison pill, a defense that makes a hostile takeover costlier. Wendy’s same-store sales fell for a seventh straight quarter, though its earnings beat forecasts.

The Massachusetts Angle: A Record Quarter in Lowell

On a day when chip stocks were routed, Lowell-based MACOM Technology Solutions reported record results. Revenue for the quarter ended Oct. 2 rose 62.7% from a year earlier to $424.8 million, and adjusted earnings came to $2.09 a share, the company said. MACOM forecast $450 million to $460 million in revenue for the current quarter. The Boston Report has more in its MACOM earnings story.

By the Numbers: What the Data Shows

Over the two sessions since Election Day, the Dow is down about 264 points, or 0.5%, from Tuesday’s close of 51,786.72, according to Boston Report calculations from CNBC data. The broader indexes fared worse. By the same math, the S&P 500 is down about 2.8% over two days and the Nasdaq about 4.2%, because Wednesday’s gains in those indexes were smaller than Thursday’s losses. Oil tells the opposite story. Even after Thursday’s bounce, Brent is about 5.1% below Tuesday’s settlement and WTI about 5.8% lower, Boston Report calculations show.

The seven biggest tech stocks were down a combined $866 billion heading into the last hour of trading, by Boston Report tally of CNBC figures. Nvidia alone accounted for $374 billion, or 43% of that total.

What It Means for Your Money

History offers some comfort. In 10 Nasdaq corrections over the past decade, the index gained an average of 9.41% in the three months after the bottom, CNBC found, though 2022 was a painful exception. Lower Treasury yields could also ease borrowing costs if they hold. Next up is Friday’s October jobs report, due at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect a gain of 59,000 jobs and a 4.2% unemployment rate, a key read on the U.S. economy. Weekly jobless claims fell to 189,000. In Washington, the Prospect notes that the government’s funding runs out on Dec. 11, giving Democrats leverage over spending, including a $1.5 trillion Pentagon request, in the lame-duck session.

Sources

• CNBC: Dow drops 1,800 points; Nasdaq tumbles into correction territory (live updates and closing data)
• CNBC: Nasdaq drops into correction territory, here’s what typically happens next
• CNBC: Top Democrats call to rein in AI buildout after midterms sweep
• CNBC: Tesla and SpaceX lose over $420 billion in combined market cap
• CNBC: Wall Street’s fear gauge surges the most since April
• CNBC: Oil jumps as investors assess Iran war future, tanker attacks
• CNBC: 10-year Treasury yield falls as traders exit tech stocks
• CNBC: Bank of England hikes interest rate for the first time since Iran war
• CNBC: Wendy’s rejects $1.4 billion takeover proposal from Trian
• CNBC: The October jobs report is out Friday
• The American Prospect: Voters Lead a Backlash Against the Oligarchy
• The American Prospect: Democrats’ Power in the Lame-Duck Session
• MACOM: Fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal year 2026 results
• Financial Times: Wall Street sheds $3.2tn as Democratic midterm sweep triggers brutal AI rout
• Wikimedia Commons: NYSE trading floor photo (Carol M. Highsmith, public domain)