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After two of the wildest days of the year on Wall Street, the stock market is finally catching its breath. Stocks surged on Wednesday, crashed on Thursday, and on Friday they are steady to higher around midday. For anyone with a 401(k), an IRA, or money in index funds, the week’s roller coaster has been stomach-churning, but Friday’s calm is a welcome sign that the panic has not spread.
As of 12:07pm Eastern time on Friday, November 6, the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.6% at about 24,695, the S&P 500 was up 0.8% at about 7,415, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed at about 51,530, recovering from a drop of roughly 450 points earlier in the morning. The 10-year Treasury yield held at 4.85%, and oil slipped about 0.4% to near $90 a barrel.
| Market | Level (12:07pm ET) | Today |
|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones | 51,530 | +0.0% |
| S&P 500 | 7,415 | +0.8% |
| Nasdaq | 24,695 | +1.6% |
| 10-yr Treasury yield | 4.85% | +0.01 pts |
| Oil (WTI, per barrel) | $90.15 | -0.4% |
Friday’s steady hand follows a whiplash week. On Wednesday, stocks soared after Democrats won control of Congress in the midterm elections, lifting hopes for an end to political gridlock and a quicker resolution of the war in Iran. The party secured majorities in both the House and the Senate for next year; the Mississippi race was still being counted Friday but could not change control. The Dow jumped 1,569 points, or 3.0%, the S&P 500 gained 1.6%, and the Nasdaq added 1.4%. Oil prices plunged more than 7% that day on expectations of easing conflict in the Middle East.
On Thursday, the mood flipped. Investors dumped technology stocks tied to artificial intelligence on fears that the election results could slow the construction of AI data centers, and the selling snowballed into the worst day for the market since the April 2025 tariff shock. The Dow plunged 1,833 points, or 3.4%, the S&P 500 dropped 4.4%, and the Nasdaq sank 5.5% into correction territory, meaning it closed more than 10% below its recent record high. The seven biggest tech companies lost more than $1 trillion in combined value in a single day, and Nvidia alone fell about 9%.
| Market | Wed Nov 4 | Thu Nov 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones | +3.0% | -3.4% |
| S&P 500 | +1.6% | -4.4% |
| Nasdaq | +1.4% | -5.5% |
Friday brought a reason to steady nerves. The government’s October jobs report, released at 8:30am, showed employers added 165,000 jobs, nearly triple the 59,000 economists expected, while the unemployment rate changed little, at 4.1%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The strong hiring numbers calmed fears that the economy was cracking, and traders rushed back into the same tech stocks they dumped a day earlier. Nvidia was up about 4% at midday.
Even with Friday’s bounce, the week has left marks. Compared with Tuesday’s close, the Nasdaq is still down about 2.6% and the S&P 500 is down about 2.1%, while the Dow is off roughly 0.5%. In other words, Thursday’s rout more than erased Wednesday’s celebration, and Friday has only made back part of the damage.
What it means for you: If you checked your retirement account this week and felt sick, you were not alone. The broad indexes surged on Wednesday, gave back all of it and more on Thursday, and on Friday have rebounded partway, with the S&P 500 up 0.8% and the Nasdaq up 1.6% at midday. One steady spot: the 10-year Treasury yield, which helps set mortgage and savings rates, has barely moved through the drama, sitting at 4.85%.
JBizNews Desk | Wall Street
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