US stocks suffered a broad sell-off on the second trading day after the election, with losses spreading from chipmakers and AI companies to retail, financial, housing, travel and defensive stocks. The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.5%, breaking below its 200-day moving average. The S&P 500 lost 4.35% to a three-month low, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 3.5%. Investors turned their attention to corporate earnings and the US Labor Department's upcoming October jobs report.
Major indexes and small caps fall together
The Nasdaq's sharp decline on Thursday brought it close to its late-July low. The S&P 500 slid from around its 50-day moving average to near its 200-day average. The Dow, after gaining 3% on Wednesday, retreated and fell back below its 50-day moving average. The Russell 2000, a benchmark for small-cap stocks, dropped 4.45%, moving below both its 50-day and 200-day averages again.
The S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) fell 2.9%, pulling back to its 21-day moving average. The fund briefly reached a record high shortly after the open before turning lower, suggesting selling pressure was not confined to a handful of large technology stocks.
After Thursday's close, futures edged down. Dow futures were 0.3% below fair value, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures each fell 0.2%. Futures moves after hours do not necessarily predict how the cash market will trade in the next session.
Chip and AI stocks lead losses as selling spreads
Chipmakers and AI-related stocks took some of the steepest losses. Sandisk fell 22.3%, Bloom Energy dropped 16.4%, CoreWeave lost 9.8% and Nvidia declined 9.3%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. fell 10.8%. SpaceX slid 9.05% to $123.62, closing below its $135 IPO price for the first time in several months.
Concerns that the election result could affect data center construction added to pressure on technology stocks. But the decline quickly spread beyond tech: software, retail, housing, financial and travel stocks all fell. Insurance and consumer staples, sectors often seen as more defensive, also retreated from earlier levels.
Sector ETFs underscored the breadth of the sell-off. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) fell 11.2%, while the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) lost 4.4%. ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) dropped 9% and ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG) fell 10.2%. SpaceX is the second-largest holding in ARK Invest's ETFs. The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) declined 4.1%, and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) fell 2.85%.
Elsewhere, the SPDR S&P Metals and Mining ETF (XME) dropped 5.6%, the U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS) lost 3.7%, the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) fell 3.4%, the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) declined 2.9% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) lost 2.5%.
Volatility jumps as jobs report moves into focus
The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), which tracks expected stock-market volatility, briefly climbed to its highest level since late March, rising nearly 68%. The Nasdaq-100 Volatility Index (VXN) also reached its highest level since April 2025. A rapid rise in volatility can sometimes occur before a short-term market low, but it does not mean stocks will rebound immediately. Index and individual-stock performance remain the clearest indicators of market conditions on the day.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note fell 5.5 basis points to 4.84%. US crude oil rose 2.7% to $90.52 a barrel.
The Labor Department is scheduled to release its October jobs report at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. Economists expect nonfarm payrolls to rise by 62,000, up from 29,000 in September, while the unemployment rate is forecast to hold at 4.2%. Markets continue to see a December Federal Reserve rate increase as likely. The employment data will provide an important read on the labor market and interest-rate expectations.
Earnings move individual stocks in different directions
Several companies reported results after Thursday's close. Cloudflare and Airbnb shares rose, with Airbnb moving back above a buy point. Dropbox edged higher but remained within a consolidation range. Atlassian, Affirm, Guardant Health, Natera, Five9 and 10X Genomics fell after hours. Halozyme Therapeutics and FIGS retreated during Thursday's session from levels near their highs.
Palomar Holdings, Veeva Systems, CSX, Apple and e.l.f. Beauty were at or near areas that technical analysts describe as buy zones. But with indexes falling sharply and losses spanning sectors, individual stocks remained exposed to broader market pressure. Gains following earnings may also prove difficult to sustain as volatility rises and investors assess whether breakouts can hold.