Photo: A silicon wafer during semiconductor production
By: JBizNews Desk 🌎
The selloff that started in chip stocks spread across Wall Street within minutes of Thursday’s open. The Nasdaq Composite plunged 672.25 points, or 2.6%, to 25,064.26 as of 9:50 a.m. Eastern, and the S&P 500 fell 1.4% to 7,580.59. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, up 288 points at the open, reversed to trade down 229.09 points, or 0.4%, at 53,127.03 – giving back a slice of Wednesday’s 1,569-point post-election surge.
Chip stocks remain the epicenter. AMD crashed 10.8% to $436.05 as of 9:42 a.m., erasing all of Wednesday’s earnings-driven gain and more. Micron Technology sank 7.9% to $732.42, Intel dropped 6.3% to $54.59, and Nvidia fell 4.4% to $191.33. SpaceX slid 5.8% to $128.10, extending its post-election decline. The trigger is Washington: Rep. Yassamin Ansari, an Arizona Democrat, called Wednesday for a pause on advanced AI development, regulation of the industry and a ban on artificial superintelligence – a signal the incoming Democratic Congress intends to act. Investors are repricing the data-center building boom that has driven chip-sector revenue, on expectations that new rules will slow construction and constrain AI computing capacity.
Energy stocks bucked the tape. Exxon Mobil rose 2% to $172.57 and Chevron gained 1.9% to $221.07 as of 9:50 a.m., as U.S. crude climbed 1.7% to $89.65 a barrel, rebounding after a steep five-day slide driven by Iran-deal hopes. Gold rose 1.5% to $4,132.10 an ounce, and the 10-year Treasury yield held near 4.90%.
The morning’s economic data pointed the other way from the market. Initial jobless claims fell to 189,000 last week, the fewest since mid-July, the Labor Department reported at 8:30 a.m. Economists had expected about 196,000, after 194,000 the prior week. The strong readout sets the stage for Friday’s October jobs report, due at 8:30 a.m. from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
| Market | Last | Change | As of (ET) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones | 53,127.03 | -229.09 (-0.43%) | 9:50 a.m. |
| S&P 500 | 7,580.59 | -108.03 (-1.40%) | 9:50 a.m. |
| Nasdaq | 25,064.26 | -672.25 (-2.61%) | 9:50 a.m. |
| 10-Year Treasury | 4.902% | +0.8 bps | 9:33 a.m. |
| WTI crude | $89.65 | +1.74% | 9:31 a.m. |
| Gold | $4,132.10 | +1.45% | 9:38 a.m. |
Live reads from market data pages, Thursday, Nov. 5.
What it means for you: this morning is a split screen for your money. If your 401(k) leans on tech-heavy index funds, the chip selloff is pulling it down – but funds holding energy companies are up. The best news for most families is the jobs number: 189,000 claims means very few people are being laid off, the strongest job-security reading since July. And while oil bounced today, it is still down sharply for the week, so relief at the gas pump should keep trickling in. Mortgage rates are holding steady, with the 10-year Treasury near 4.9%.
JBizNews Desk | Wall Street
© JBizNews.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution is strictly prohibited.
