Nasdaq Enters Correction as Chip Selloff Gives Wall Street Its Worst Day Since April

U.S. stocks plunged on Thursday, erasing the previous day’s post-election rally in a single session. The Nasdaq entered correction territory, and the semiconductor index recorded its worst day since March 2020.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,833.06 points, or 3.44 percent, to close at 51,523.06. The S&P 500 fell 334.89 points, or 4.36 percent, to 7,353.73. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1,421.52 points, or 5.52 percent, to 24,315.00. All three indexes had their worst day since the tariff announcement in April 2025.

The Nasdaq fell more than 10 percent below its record close on October 6, entering correction territory. A correction means a decline of at least 10 percent from a recent high. It is the Nasdaq’s second correction of the year.

Chip stocks were at the center of the selloff. The PHLX Semiconductor Index fell 12.25 percent to close at 9,011.14. Advanced Micro Devices fell about 17 percent, Micron about 17.5 percent, and SanDisk more than 22 percent. Nvidia fell 9.3 percent and Qualcomm 9.5 percent. Tesla fell about 10 percent and SpaceX 9.1 percent.

The cause was the same as the day before. With Democrats taking control of the House and Senate, investors worry that data center construction will slow, and warnings about rising costs from higher memory prices added to the pressure.

Fear spread across the market. The Cboe Volatility Index, which measures market anxiety, rose 69.66 percent to 28.18.

Investors now watch the October jobs report at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, the consumer price index on November 10, Nvidia earnings on November 17 and the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in December.