Yikes! The Stock Market Just Did Something It Has Never Done Before. History Is Clear About What Comes Next.

The Motley Fool · Trevor Jennewine · 2026-11-06 09:12 UTC

U.S. stocks got routed on Thursday as midterm election results raised questions about the durability of the artificial intelligence boom.

The U.S. stock market got hammered on Thursday, Nov. 5, as midterm election results cast doubts about how quickly the artificial intelligence boom will continue. The elections swept several governors into office who have vowed to restrict data center construction, while several congressional candidates skeptical of AI won seats in Washington.

The fallout was absolutely brutal for Wall Street, with the S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.99%) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +1.68%) suffering their largest single-day declines in market capitalization on record. Specifically, the S&P 500 dropped 4.3%, erasing $2.9 trillion. And the Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.5%, erasing $2.5 trillion.

The S&P 500 is now down 5.9% from its record high, and the Nasdaq Composite is down 11.9%, putting the technology-heavy index in correction territory. But history is clear about what comes next: The U.S. stock market has always recovered its losses, and there is no reason to expect a different outcome this time.

Read the full story at The Motley Fool · All coverage of this story