# The US stock market crash of 5 November 2026: what happened, in numbers

> On Thursday 5 November 2026, a day after Democrats won Congress, US stocks had their worst session since the April 2025 tariff sell-off. Intraday, the S&P 500 fell about 4%, the Nasdaq Composite about 5% and the Philadelphia semiconductor index about 10–11%, erasing all of Wednesday's election rally. Reports put the value wiped out at $2 trillion or more, and one tally says $2.7 trillion. This is the first of eleven connected pieces: it sets out what happened, and the rest follow the trail through the Democratic win, the AI build-out, gold, crypto and what comes next.

Updated 2026-11-06 · Payaries · https://www.payaries.com/blog/us-stock-market-crash-november-5-2026

## What happened

> **Written 6 November 2026.** From Yahoo Finance, CNBC and HuggingNews live coverage published on 5 November. Thursday 5 November figures are intraday readings from live reports. None of the sources reviewed gave official closing levels, so treat every move as approximate until you check a final close. Payaries is a technology platform, not an adviser. This article reports public information and is not investment, tax or legal advice. Markets are moving quickly — figures below are as reported on the dates given, and the sources linked at the end are the place to check current levels.

Yahoo Finance's market page, captured with about an hour and fifty minutes of the session left, showed the **S&P 500** at 7,378.96, down 4.03%; the **Dow Jones Industrial Average** at 51,669.33, down 3.16%; the **Nasdaq Composite** at 24,413.25, down 5.14%; and the small-cap **Russell 2000** down 4.45%. CNBC's live blog, updated mid-afternoon, had the Nasdaq down 5.3% at its low, the S&P 500 down as much as 4.2% and the Dow down 1,765 points, or 3.3%. Earlier readings were milder, which is why articles from the same morning disagree.

| Measure (5 Nov, intraday) | Reported move | Source |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | Down about 3.8% to 4.2% (7,378.96 at one reading) | HuggingNews; Yahoo Finance; CNBC |
| Nasdaq Composite | Down about 5%; in correction, more than 10% below its 6 October record | Yahoo Finance; CNBC; HuggingNews |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | Down about 1,500 to 1,765 points (2.9% to 3.3%) | Yahoo Finance; CNBC |
| PHLX Semiconductor index | Down about 10% to 11.2%, the steepest drop since March 2020 | Yahoo Finance; HuggingNews |
| Russell 2000 | Down about 4.4%, also in correction | Yahoo Finance; CNBC |
| VIX (fear gauge) | Spiked to 26–28; the highest since 31 March | Yahoo Finance; CNBC |

HuggingNews calls it the S&P 500's worst day since April 2025 and says 118 stocks in the S&P 1500 fell at least 10%, up from 50 the day before. Yahoo Finance's Jared Blikre called it the Dow's worst second session after a midterm election since 1896. The sell-off wiped out the whole of Wednesday's gain: the S&P 500 had risen about 1.6% to 2% and the Dow about 3% a day earlier. How that reversal happened is the subject of [part 3](https://www.payaries.com/blog/wall-street-rally-to-rout-democrats-win-chip-crash).

## What fell, and what did not

This was a chip-and-AI sell-off that spread outward, not a uniform fall. The information-technology sector was down 6.6%, the worst of the S&P 500's sectors, per CNBC. Selling then reached industrials and financials.

| Stock | Reported intraday move | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Micron | Down about 15% (to $674.50 at one reading) | Yahoo Finance; CNBC |
| AMD | Down about 15% | Yahoo Finance; CNBC |
| Nvidia | Down about 8% to 8.6% (to $182.84 at one reading); about $400 billion of value, and negative for 2026 | Yahoo Finance; CNBC; HuggingNews |
| Broadcom, Oracle, Arm | Down about 8%, 7% and 12% | CNBC |
| Palantir | About $40 billion of market value lost | Yahoo Finance |
| Tesla and SpaceX | Each down more than 9% | Yahoo Finance |
| AppLovin | Up roughly 23% to 30% after beating estimates | Yahoo Finance |

Qualcomm added to the pressure. Market reports say its results, published late Wednesday, showed handset-chip revenue down 26% to $5.14 billion, below analyst estimates. The exceptions were few: AppLovin rose on its own earnings, and, as [part 8](https://www.payaries.com/blog/gold-price-after-us-midterms-2026) covers, gold held its gains.

## Why it happened

No single cause explains a day like this, and the outlets weight them differently. Three explanations recur across the coverage:

- **The Democratic sweep and the data-center build-out.** Yahoo Finance and CNBC both tie the sell-off to Democrats winning control of Congress and what that could mean for rules on AI data centers. CNBC adds that Senator Bernie Sanders called for a national data-center moratorium, and that voters rejected data-center development in 40 of 41 local ballot measures. [Part 6](https://www.payaries.com/blog/data-center-backlash-democrats-ai-buildout) covers this in detail.
- **Positioning.** HuggingNews reports that hedge funds sold the hyperscaler stocks they had bought in Wednesday's rally, and quotes a social-media trader saying Goldman Sachs' trading desk described long-only investors as “frozen”. Keith Lerner of Truist told CNBC: “The rubber band is becoming increasingly stretched.”
- **Company news on top of a nervous market.** Qualcomm's weak handset revenue landed the same night, and the week before, Alphabet had its worst day on record on negative free cash flow and heavy AI spending; see [Alphabet loses $500 billion in one day](https://www.payaries.com/blog/alphabet-google-shares-lose-500-billion-in-one-day).

Whether the AI trade was already overextended is a separate and larger question, taken up in [part 7](https://www.payaries.com/blog/is-ai-a-bubble-evidence-for-and-against).

## Around the world

CNBC's live blog reports Asian chip stocks tumbled: South Korea's Kospi closed down 5.28% at 5,383.8, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 1.79% at 61,077.9, and Japan's Advantest fell about 11.7%. The picture was not uniform. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed up 2.61%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up more than 3% late in its session, and in Europe the Stoxx 600 was up about 0.5% early even as ASML and Infineon fell. [Part 5](https://www.payaries.com/blog/democratic-congress-world-economy-tariffs-oil-dollar) looks at what a Democratic Congress means for the wider economy.

## Gold, oil, bonds and Bitcoin the same day

- **Gold** rose, to roughly $4,114 to $4,130 an ounce depending on the reading (Yahoo Finance; CNBC), and touched a two-week high. See [part 8](https://www.payaries.com/blog/gold-price-after-us-midterms-2026).
- **The 10-year Treasury yield** was about 4.83% in Yahoo Finance's reading, lower on the day as money moved into bonds.
- **Oil** was volatile: WTI about $90 and Brent about $97 in Yahoo Finance's afternoon updates, after both had fallen more than 8% on Wednesday.
- **Bitcoin** fell about 5% to roughly $76,000, from above $80,000 on Wednesday, with crypto-linked stocks falling harder. See [part 9](https://www.payaries.com/blog/bitcoin-crypto-after-us-midterms-chip-crash).

## What one day does and does not tell you

A correction is a fall of 10% or more from a recent high. The Nasdaq Composite is in one, and for the second time this year, per HuggingNews. That is a meaningful move, and it is also an ordinary event in market history. One day cannot say whether this is a pause in a long advance or the start of something deeper. Analysts quoted in the coverage disagree, and the rest of this series sets out both readings rather than choosing for you.

## The full series, in reading order

This is one of eleven connected pieces on the November 2026 election and market shock. Read them in order, or jump to the one you need.

1. **The crash: what happened on 5 November** (this article)
2. [How $2.7 trillion was wiped out in a day, and whether that number is real](https://www.payaries.com/blog/2-7-trillion-wiped-out-in-one-day-explained)
3. [From rally to rout: why stocks rose on the Democratic win and crashed a day later](https://www.payaries.com/blog/wall-street-rally-to-rout-democrats-win-chip-crash)
4. [The Democratic win: what the midterm result changes](https://www.payaries.com/blog/democrats-win-congress-2026-midterms-what-changes)
5. [What a Democratic Congress means for the world economy](https://www.payaries.com/blog/democratic-congress-world-economy-tariffs-oil-dollar)
6. [The data-center backlash and what it means for AI](https://www.payaries.com/blog/data-center-backlash-democrats-ai-buildout)
7. [Is it really an AI bubble? The evidence on both sides](https://www.payaries.com/blog/is-ai-a-bubble-evidence-for-and-against)
8. [Gold after the midterms](https://www.payaries.com/blog/gold-price-after-us-midterms-2026)
9. [Bitcoin and crypto after the midterms and the chip crash](https://www.payaries.com/blog/bitcoin-crypto-after-us-midterms-chip-crash)
10. [What happens next: the dates, scenarios and signals to watch](https://www.payaries.com/blog/what-happens-next-us-stocks-after-ai-crash)
11. [The discussion: the hardest questions about the crash and the AI bubble, answered](https://www.payaries.com/blog/ai-bubble-debate-questions-answered)

## Sources and as-of date

> **What we could not verify.** No source reviewed gave official closing levels for 5 November, and intraday figures differ by the minute they were taken. Nvidia's “about $400 billion” and the 118-stocks count come from one outlet (HuggingNews). Qualcomm's figures are from market reports, not the company filing. Check a final close and the primary filings before relying on any number.

- [Stock market today: Nasdaq plunges 5% amid chip stock wipeout, Dow and S&P 500 erase post-election rally gains — Yahoo Finance](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/live/stock-market-today-thursday-november-5-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-oil-rises-chip-stocks-141439950.html)
- [Dow tumbles 1,600 points, erasing its postelection rally; Nasdaq plummets 5%: Live updates — CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/04/stock-market-today-live-updates.html)
- [S&P 500 Wipeout Hits $2.7T as Hedge Funds Dump Hyperscalers and Chip Index Plunges 11% — HuggingNews](https://huggingnews.com/us-markets/sandp-500-wipeout-hits-27t-as-hedge-funds-dump-hyperscalers-and-chip-ind-8d5bd757)
- [Chip stocks get slaughtered as Wall Street heads for its worst post-midterm day since 1896 — AOL/Yahoo Finance](https://www.aol.com/articles/chip-stocks-slaughtered-wall-street-163413000.html)

## Questions

**How much did the US stock market fall on 5 November 2026?**
Intraday, the S&P 500 fell about 3.8% to 4.2%, the Nasdaq Composite about 5% and the Dow roughly 1,500 to 1,765 points, per Yahoo Finance, CNBC and HuggingNews. No source reviewed gave official closing levels, so the exact finish may differ.

**Why did US stocks crash on 5 November 2026?**
Coverage points to fears that Democrats, who won Congress, will slow the AI data-center build-out, to hedge funds selling the stocks they bought in Wednesday's rally, and to weak Qualcomm results. Chip stocks led the fall, with the semiconductor index down about 10%.

**Was it the worst day ever?**
No. HuggingNews calls it the S&P 500's worst day since April 2025, and Yahoo Finance's Jared Blikre called it the Dow's worst second session after a midterm since 1896. It is not claimed as the worst day in history.

**Is the US in a recession because of this?**
A one-day stock fall is not a recession. BofA economists warn that a sustained correction in the AI trade is a major risk to the global economy, but that is a risk, not a forecast that it will happen.

**Is this investment advice?**
No. This article reports public information and is not legal, tax or investment advice. Analyst comments are their opinions.

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## Keep reading

- https://www.payaries.com/blog/2-7-trillion-wiped-out-in-one-day-explained — How $2.7 trillion vanished from US stocks in a day, and whether that number is real
- https://www.payaries.com/blog/alphabet-google-shares-lose-500-billion-in-one-day — Why Google's parent lost $500 billion in a day: Alphabet's worst trading session, explained
- https://www.payaries.com/blog/wall-street-rally-to-rout-democrats-win-chip-crash — From rally to rout: why Wall Street cheered the Democratic win and crashed a day later
- https://www.payaries.com/blog/democrats-win-congress-2026-midterms-what-changes — Democrats win both chambers of Congress: what the 2026 midterm result changes
- https://www.payaries.com/blog/democratic-congress-world-economy-tariffs-oil-dollar — What a Democratic Congress and an AI sell-off mean for the world economy
- https://www.payaries.com/blog/data-center-backlash-democrats-ai-buildout — The data-center backlash: what the 2026 midterms mean for AI
- https://www.payaries.com/blog/is-ai-a-bubble-evidence-for-and-against — Is it really an AI bubble? The case for, the case against, and what would settle it