Wall Street’s AI Selloff Erases $3 Trillion as Nasdaq Plunges 5.5%
Wall Street suffered one of its most bruising weeks in years as a massive selloff in artificial intelligence and semiconductor stocks sent the Nasdaq Composite tumbling 5.5% on November 5, 2026—its steepest single-day drop in 19 months.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: Plunged 1,833 points, or 3.4%.
- S&P 500: Fell more than 4%.
- U.S. equities: Lost nearly $3 trillion in market capitalization in a single session.
Nvidia led the decline, falling 9.3% and becoming the heaviest drag on the S&P 500. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) tumbled 17.3%, while the broader chip index plunged 12.3%.
The selloff followed a combination of concerns:
- Weak earnings signals from Qualcomm and Arm.
- Rising costs for AI data-center construction.
- Investor anxiety over the Democrats’ sweeping 2026 midterm election victory and the possibility of tougher AI regulation under the new Congress.
The rout spread beyond chipmakers to memory manufacturers, hardware suppliers, and electricity companies exposed to the AI infrastructure buildout. Asian markets also felt the impact, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 1.8% the following day.
Markets staged a partial recovery on Friday, November 6. Nasdaq futures climbed as Nvidia gained more than 3.6% in premarket trading. AMD, Intel, Broadcom, and Micron rose between 5% and 8.3%.
Equity strategists remain divided on what the rout means for the longer-term AI investment narrative. Jane Gibbons, an equity strategist at Jefferies, said:
“We view Thursday’s selloff as reactionary, not a fundamental reset.”
Sources: Spectrum News / Associated Press | Reuters via AOL