On November 5, Wall Street dumped AI: what is measured, what is feared
On Thursday, November 5, 2026, the S&P 500 lost 4.4%, its worst session since April 2025. The Nasdaq entered a correction, and Nvidia gave back its gains for the year. The press blames the midterm elections. There are three drivers, and the Texas pause the market fears has existed since August 3.
In short
- Thursday, November 5, 2026: S&P 500 -4.4%, Nasdaq -5.5%, semiconductor index -12%, Nvidia -9.3%. On Friday the Nasdaq regained 1.1%; the week is still the worst since June.
- The press gives one cause, the midterm elections: Democrats take both chambers, Texas elects a governor who promises a moratorium on data centers, 40 local ballot measures out of 41 vote against.
- Two other drivers: memory prices, which cut Qualcomm's phone chip sales by 26%, and a market already in correction since November 2.
- What is measured: Texas has been on pause since August 3 and chip demand holds. What is fragile: APIs financed by debt, with CoreWeave borrowing at 15% for an expected return of 9%.
This is a short excerpt.
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