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U.S. stocks reversed Wednesday’s post-election rally on Thursday, with chip and AI-related shares leading a broad sell-off. The Dow fell 2.2%, the S&P 500 lost 3.3% and the Nasdaq dropped 5% in Yahoo Finance’s late-day update; the Nasdaq was on track to close in correction territory. The volatility index also surged, while oil prices rose amid uncertainty over the Middle East war.
U.S. stocks plunged Thursday as investors sold chip and AI-related shares, reversing the gains made in the previous day’s post-election rally. In a late-day update, Yahoo Finance reported the Dow down 2.2%, the S&P 500 down 3.3% and the Nasdaq down 5%; the Nasdaq was on track to close in correction territory.
The losses followed a volatile session that began with a more mixed picture. Yahoo Finance reported that the Dow initially rose 0.6% while the S&P 500 edged down 0.3% and the Nasdaq fell 1%. Selling accelerated as chip and technology stocks came under pressure. At an earlier point in the session, the Nasdaq was down about 4%, the S&P 500 had fallen 2.3%, and the Dow had shed more than 700 points.
The PHLX Semiconductor Index fell 11%, with Nvidia, Micron and other chipmakers among the stocks under pressure. An earlier Yahoo Finance update said Nvidia shares were down more than 6%, Micron more than 12% and AMD more than 13%. The report said the morning sell-off had erased roughly $2 trillion in market value across stocks, though that figure was given for the earlier stage of trading rather than as a final closing estimate.
Market volatility also jumped. The CBOE Volatility Index rose more than 65% to as high as 27.45, Yahoo Finance reported, citing Futurum Equities chief market strategist Shay Boloor. The report described that as the largest one-day jump in more than two years. Oil prices rose as investors weighed uncertainty about whether President Donald Trump would pursue a deal with Iran to end the war in the Middle East. Brent traded around $97 a barrel and U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate around $90, according to the report.
Tech Sell-Off Reverses Rally
The sharp reversal shows that the post-election rally did not hold through Thursday’s trading. The broad declines matter to investors because losses were concentrated in chip and technology shares that had supported market gains, while the volatility gauge’s surge signaled a sudden increase in demand for protection against further market swings.
Investors were also trying to assess what a Democratic sweep of both chambers of Congress could mean for economic policy, AI infrastructure spending and regulation. The market moves do not establish a single cause: the Yahoo Finance report links the day’s selling to renewed pressure on AI and chip stocks and continued efforts to interpret the election result. Oil’s rise added a separate source of uncertainty tied to the Middle East conflict.
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Election Rally Meets New Selling
Wednesday’s session brought a rally after Democrats won both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, according to the source report. Thursday’s decline erased those gains in the major indexes, as investors reassessed the potential market effects of the shift in control of Capitol Hill. The report does not quantify the exact index-point gains from Wednesday that were lost.
Pressure was not limited to public equities. Bitcoin briefly fell below $76,000 and was down more than 5% on Thursday, according to Yahoo Finance, after rising above $80,000 in the previous session. The report also noted ongoing concern after a $6.3 billion Binance hack the prior week and uncertainty about the crypto industry’s legislative prospects. Separately, a Challenger, Gray & Christmas report said planned layoffs in October fell to their lowest level since 2023; the U.S. employment report was due Friday.
Causes and Closing Levels Unclear
The available report is a live-market update, not a final closing summary. Its late-day figures put the Nasdaq on track to close in correction territory, but the final closing levels are not provided. The source also does not establish how much of the decline came from election-related reassessment versus concerns specific to AI, chip valuations or other factors.
It remains unclear whether the sell-off will continue in the next session or whether oil prices will respond to any concrete diplomatic steps. The report describes uncertainty over a possible U.S.-Iran deal, but does not confirm that negotiations have advanced. It also does not provide a full account of the day’s market breadth or final losses for individual companies.
Friday Jobs Data in Focus
Investors will turn to the U.S. employment report scheduled for Friday for fresh information on the labor market. Yahoo Finance said October layoff plans had fallen to their lowest level since 2023, citing Challenger, Gray & Christmas, but that measure alone does not determine the broader jobs picture.
Markets will also continue to monitor oil prices, developments in the Middle East and how lawmakers and investors respond to the election results. Companies including Duke Energy, Airbnb and Lumentum were on the earnings calendar, according to Yahoo Finance. The report did not state how Thursday’s losses would affect trading after the update.
Key Questions
How much did the major U.S. indexes fall?
Yahoo Finance’s late-day update reported the Dow down 2.2%, the S&P 500 down 3.3% and the Nasdaq down 5% on Thursday. Those figures are from the report’s update, not confirmed closing results.
What drove Thursday’s sell-off?
The report said chip and AI-related stocks led the decline as investors reassessed the market outlook after the midterm elections. It did not identify one definitive cause or quantify the contribution of each factor.
Did the Nasdaq close in correction territory?
The report said the Nasdaq was on track to close in correction territory. It did not include the final closing level, so the update alone does not confirm whether the index ended the day there.
Why were oil prices rising?
Yahoo Finance linked the rise to uncertainty over whether President Trump would pursue a deal with Iran to end the war in the Middle East. Brent traded around $97 a barrel and WTI around $90 in the reported update.
Source: finance.yahoo.com
