Stock Market Today: Dow Falls 1,833 Points as Nasdaq Enters Correction on AI Selloff

U.S. stocks suffered a brutal selloff on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, as shares tied to artificial intelligence and data-center buildouts led a broad retreat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 1,833 points, or roughly 3.4%, the S&P 500 dropped about 4.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite sank about 5.5% into correction territory, according to CNBC. The Associated Press described the session as a brutal AI-driven sell-off that wiped out Wednesday’s postelection gains and then some.

Closing levels widely cited for the day put the Dow near 51,523, the S&P 500 near 7,353.73 and the Nasdaq Composite near 24,315.

This article is for general information only and is not investment advice.

How bad was Thursday’s selloff?

CNBC said the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq each posted their steepest one-day declines since the April 4, 2025, tariff shock. Among the session’s standout stats from CNBC:

• The Nasdaq’s drop was its worst single day since April 4, 2025, when it fell 5.82%
• The S&P 500’s decline was its worst since that same April session
• The Dow’s loss was its worst since April 4, 2025, when it fell more than 2,200 points
• All 11 S&P 500 sectors finished negative, led by information technology, down about 7.3%
• On the NYSE, decliners outpaced advancers nearly 6 to 1; on the Nasdaq, nearly 5 to 1
• The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) jumped more than 11 points, its biggest point gain since April 4, 2025

Yahoo Finance said the Nasdaq-100 fell about 6.3% and erased roughly $2.3 trillion in market value, while the PHLX Semiconductor Index plunged about 12%.

Why did the stock market fall?

Investors sold AI-linked chip, cloud and data-center names amid worries that post-midterm political and regulatory pressure could slow data-center construction, CNBC and Yahoo Finance reported. Democrats’ victories in the House and Senate, and campaigns that targeted new AI data centers in some states, weighed on the trade, according to CNBC’s correction analysis.

The move reversed Wednesday’s postelection rally. CNBC said the “Magnificent Seven” group of mega-cap tech stocks lost more than $1 trillion in combined market value on Thursday, with Nvidia alone accounting for more than $440 billion of that decline.

Did the Nasdaq enter a correction?

Yes. On Wall Street, a decline of more than 10% from a recent high is typically called a correction; a 20% drop is often labeled a bear market. CNBC reported that the Nasdaq Composite closed more than 11% below its record from last month, putting the index in correction territory. The small-cap Russell 2000 also finished in correction, CNBC said.

Historically, CNBC noted that after past Nasdaq corrections, the index has often seen further near-term volatility but has tended to recover over subsequent months — with 2022 as a harsher exception.

What else moved?

Yahoo Finance reported that oil prices rose amid uncertainty over Middle East diplomacy, with Brent crude around $98 a barrel and WTI near $90. A Challenger, Gray & Christmas report showed October layoff plans falling to the lowest level since 2023, setting up Friday’s employment report as the next major data point for markets.

Broader risk appetite was weak across indexes and ETFs that track the market. Popular vehicles such as QQQ, VOO, SPY and VTI — which many investors use for Nasdaq-100, S&P 500 and total-market exposure — would have reflected the same AI-led rout that hit the underlying indexes.

FAQ