Wall Street's AI sell-off: the Nasdaq falls 5.5% two days after the midterms
United States · since Nov 5, 2026
Not a protest. Still loud. The news everyone is arguing about, checked like a protest card: two newsrooms or more, both sides, every line sourced.
What happened
On Thursday 5 November the S&P 500 fell 4.36% to 7,353.73, the Dow lost 1,833 points, or 3.44%, to 51,523.06, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 5.52% to 24,315, its worst day since April 2025 and into correction territory. Chip stocks led the fall: the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index lost about 12%, Nvidia about 9.3% and AMD 17.3%. The drop followed the market's best day in three months on 4 November, the day after the election. On Friday morning South Korea's Kospi fell more than 8% and Japan's Nikkei about 6%, London's FTSE 100 was down 1.9% by mid-morning, and US Nasdaq futures pointed about 1.3% higher before the open.1235
Who's saying what
President Trump
He posted on Truth Social that the market "suffered one of the Worst Days in History based on the results of the Election" and said: "Your 401(k)s have, therefore, dropped. Remember, it wasn't Republicans, it was Dumocrats."4
Analysts who point to the election
Jakub Rochlitz of eToro said: "The obvious catalyst for the sharp selloff is that markets are pricing in the midterm results", and that investors expect the AI buildout to "become slower and more expensive". AP reports that the wins raised the possibility of government-imposed pauses in data centre construction, amid voter concern about power bills.13
Analysts who point elsewhere
Charlie McElligott of Nomura said the main catalyst was hedge funds locking in profits before year-end, not a fundamental deterioration. AP also cites worries about higher borrowing costs and critics who say AI stock prices form a bubble.23
The chip industry
AMD chief executive Lisa Su said "the market can sometimes be a little bit short-sighted" and that she does not see demand for AI chips slowing soon.2
Democrats
NBC News reports that many incoming Democrats have backed slowing or halting data centre construction. The reports read here carried no direct Democratic response to the sell-off or to Trump's post.4
What's next
Fox Business reports that many analysts said the selling could continue. Friday's US close was not yet known when this was last checked, and premarket prices can change at the open. Yahoo Finance reports that Brent crude traded near $98 on 5 November amid uncertainty over a US deal with Iran.125
The full story
US stocks had their sharpest fall since April 2025 on 5 November, led by AI and chip companies, and markets in Asia and Europe fell on 6 November. The reasons are disputed. President Trump blames the Democrats' midterm wins. Some analysts agree the election played a part, because Democrats may restrict data centres; others say hedge funds taking profits and higher borrowing costs mattered more. The fall came a day after the market's best day in three months.
checked Nov 6, 2026
The big story
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7 sources · 75% sure · checked Nov 6
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7 sources · 90% sure · checked Nov 5