The Nasdaq 100 fell 6.4% on Thursday, November 5, after the US elections. It was a record one-day loss of $2.3 trillion. A day earlier, trading reviews had called it the worst session since March 2020.
The sell-off was triggered by the Democrats' win in the midterm congressional elections held on Tuesday, November 3. Investors judged that the new balance of power would slow data center construction and tighten AI regulation, which would reduce demand for chips and model infrastructure.
The blow fell on semiconductors. Their index dropped 12%, while the S&P 500 lost 4.4%. Nvidia fell 9%, its worst day since January 2025. Micron shares lost about 17.5%. Nvidia's market capitalization shrank by about $450 billion.
On Friday, November 6, the market began to recover part of the losses. The Nasdaq 100 climbed, and by midday it was up about 2%. Nvidia gained 3.9%, and by the close the Nasdaq Composite had risen 1.73%.
The rebound brought back about $170 billion for Nvidia, less than half of the previous day's losses.
Pressure on the market has not eased, though. A US jobs report showed 165,000 new jobs, which raised concerns about Federal Reserve rate hikes. The market was on track for a fourth straight weekly decline.
Companies whose revenue depends on data centers were hit hardest: makers of memory and storage, semiconductors and networking equipment. They will determine whether the rebound holds. The next benchmark for the market is the Fed's rate decisions.
