The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,833 points to close at 51,523 on Thursday, Nov. 5, as a rout in chip and artificial intelligence stocks swept Wall Street. The Nasdaq-100 lost about $2.3 trillion in market value, Yahoo Finance reported, and The Associated Press said the S&P 500 had its worst day since April 2025.
The Dow’s 3.4% drop was the mildest of the three big averages. The S&P 500 fell 4.4% to 7,353.73 and the Nasdaq composite fell 5.5% to 24,315.00, and anyone who draws monthly spending from a brokerage account or a 401(k) now has a plain question to answer: how much of the money needed over the next few years is sitting in stocks, and how much sits somewhere that cannot lose thousands of Dow points in an afternoon?
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Where did the $2.3 trillion go?
The Nasdaq-100, the index built around the largest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq exchange, fell 6.3%, Yahoo Finance’s live coverage said, which is where the $2.3 trillion figure comes from. Chip makers were at the center. The PHLX Semiconductor Index closed at 9,011.14, down 1,257.52 points, or 12.25%, according to the same Yahoo Finance page.
AP’s market close put Nvidia down 9.3%, the heaviest weight on the S&P 500, and Advanced Micro Devices down 17.3%. CoreWeave fell 9.8% and GE Vernova 7.5%. Fox Business had Nvidia closing at $181.60 a share, down 9.26%, and Tesla down 10.77% to $343.69.
The damage did not stop at chips. Fox Business listed Meta Platforms down 3.96% to $605.08, Amazon down 2.19% to $260.21 and Alphabet down 2.20% to $282.57, while SpaceX fell 9.05% to $123.62. IREN, Applied Digital and Nebius Group each fell more than 14%.
Even after Thursday’s slide, AP noted, Nvidia is down only 2.6% for 2026 as a whole, a reminder of how far the group had climbed before the drop. The Dow’s 1,833.06-point loss took it from 53,356.12 on Wednesday to 51,523.06, a decline of 3.44%.
Why did stocks break down on this day?
Fox Business pointed to Democrats’ sweeping wins in Tuesday’s midterm elections and what they could mean for AI regulation and data center construction, which has become a political issue as electricity prices rise. “The obvious catalyst for the sharp selloff is that markets are pricing in the midterm results,” Jakub Rochlitz, a market analyst at eToro, said in that report.
Rochlitz added that “the market’s interpretation is that the AI infrastructure buildout will become slower and more expensive.” Jed Ellerbroek, a portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management, described the move this way: “This feels like the capitulation phase for the data center capex beneficiary stocks, especially the semiconductors.”
Thursday’s selling also followed a rally. Fox Business described the market as unwinding a political risk premium after the previous day’s gains. AMD’s chief executive, Lisa Su, answered the 17.3% drop in her company’s shares by saying, “I think the market can sometimes be a little bit short-sighted,” according to Yahoo Finance’s live coverage.
How does Thursday rank against other bad days?
AP’s wording was that the S&P 500 had its worst day since President Donald Trump shook markets worldwide in April 2025, when his “Liberation Day” tariffs were announced. Fox Business reported that the Nasdaq composite had its worst day since April 2025, closing 5.52% lower. The composite ended 11.9% below the record it set last month, AP said, which puts it in what Wall Street calls a correction, a drop of more than 10% from a peak.
Yahoo Finance’s live blog added a post-election angle midday, saying the S&P 500 was on pace for its worst second day after a midterm election in data going back nearly a century. Those comparisons were drawn from the figures as they stood on Thursday, and the Dow’s close of 51,523.06 was recorded at 4:35 p.m. Eastern.
Did anything hold up?
Not much of the market, but a few corners did. AppLovin rose 31% after beating revenue and profit expectations, and Tapestry gained 7.1% on a stronger-than-expected profit, AP reported. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4.84% from 4.90% late Wednesday, after standing at 4.95% on election night and above 5.30% last month.
Oil moved the other way. Brent crude rose 3.9% to $98.29 a barrel, recovering part of a drop of nearly 9% the day before, AP said.
What comes after a 1,833-point day?
Analysts quoted by Fox Business expected more selling, likely beginning in Asian markets on Friday, Nov. 6. Yahoo Finance noted that a key jobs report was due Friday. Kevin Mahn, chief investment officer at Hennion & Walsh, told Yahoo Finance that “there’s going to be more choppiness ahead.”
All of the figures here describe Thursday’s close. Markets reopen Friday with the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq each starting from lower ground than they held on Wednesday, and anything that happens in Friday’s session will be a separate day’s number.
Is the money you need soon sitting where a 1,833-point day can reach it?
A day like Thursday shows how fast the stock part of a retirement budget can shrink, and the cash needed for the next few years of bills is the part that should not move with it. Anyone drawing monthly income from an account that fell 3.4% to 6.3% in one session has reason to look at where each dollar sits.
Make Your Savings Pay You is an 11-page guide to the safe places for that cash: insured high-yield savings, CDs, Treasury bills and I bonds. It covers every dollar insured, even above $250,000 at one bank, and its Start here page is a 60-second scan of what the money earns today.
See the guide to keeping every dollar insured, even above $250,000 at one bank →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
