Index closes
The S&P 500 closed at 7,354, down 4.36%. The Nasdaq 100 fell 6.36% to 26,630. The Dow Jones ended at 51,523, down 3.44%, and the Russell 2000 lost 4.45% to 2,730.
Macro & after the close
Stocks fell sharply in a broad-based selloff driven by investor fears about the unwinding of the year's most popular AI trades.
After the midterms, investors positioned for a slower data center build-out, undermining shares of chipmakers and data-center suppliers. Chip and data center stocks fell for a second day after the Democrats won Congress, including in states where voters pushed back on data centers.
The selloff fueled a flight-to-quality trade in Treasurys, with the yield on the 10-year note falling to its lowest level since Sept. 9.
Themes
Semiconductors ▼ median −10.92%: ALAB −19.62%, AMD −17.26%, MRVL −16.43%, MCHP −13.92%, ARM −13.08%, ON −11.55%, and 8 more
Memory & storage ▼ median −16.88%: SNDK −22.26%, MU −17.46%, WDC −17.35%, P −16.40%, STX −16.25%, NTAP −9.75%
Networking & optical ▼ median −12.92%: LITE −18.68%, CIEN −15.22%, COHR −12.98%, GLW −12.92%, ANET −10.82%, CSCO −7.62%, and 1 more
Semiconductors fell, with Astera Labs (ALAB) down 19.62%, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) down 17.26%, Marvell Technology (MRVL) down 16.43%, Microchip Technology (MCHP) down 13.92%, Arm Holdings (ARM) down 13.08% and ON Semiconductor (ON) down 11.55%.
Memory and storage names slid. Sandisk (SNDK) fell 22.26%, Micron Technology (MU) 17.46%, Western Digital (WDC) 17.35%, Everpure (P) 16.4%, Seagate Technology (STX) 16.25% and NetApp (NTAP) 9.75%. Micron suspended plans to build a $4.5 billion plant in Taiwan, adding to fears about a possible AI bubble, and Fox Advisors downgraded Sandisk from Overweight to Equal Weight, adding to more cautious analyst calls following its latest results.
Networking and optical stocks dropped. Lumentum (LITE) fell 18.68%, Ciena (CIEN) 15.22%, Coherent (COHR) 12.98%, Corning (GLW) 12.92%, Arista Networks (ANET) 10.82% and Cisco (CSCO) 7.62%. The group was caught in a broad AI infrastructure selloff after Democrats swept Congress, which fueled concerns about hurdles to data center expansion.
