Week in Review: Stocks Fall for a Fourth Week as an AI-Chip Selloff Hits

The S&P 500 lost 2.7% and the Nasdaq 3.4% for the week ended Nov 6, as a Thursday chip rout, a strong jobs report and a plunge in oil shaped trading.

Nov 8, 2026 · 04:55 PT

Genexus Alpha

AI illustration for this news story: Week in Review: Stocks Fall for a Fourth Week as an AI-Chip Selloff Hits — AI-generated illustration, not a photo.

The week in numbers

Index / asset	Close (Fri Nov 6)	Week
S&P 500	7,376.86	-2.7% (-203.21 pts)
Nasdaq Composite	24,579.42	-3.4% (-857.57 pts)
Dow Jones Industrial Average	51,285.73	-0.9% (-484.58 pts)
Russell 2000	2,754.11	-2.1% (-57.74 pts)
VIX	25.64 (Friday, -9.01% on the day)	n/a
10-year Treasury yield	4.864%	n/a
WTI crude (futures settle)	$90.83 a barrel	down nearly 13%
Spot gold	$4,059.90 an ounce (Friday report)	up 4.8%

Figures are for the week ended Friday, Nov 6, 2026. Index data come from Yahoo Finance; yields, oil and gold from CNBC. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite each posted a fourth straight weekly loss, and the S&P 500 closed 5.65% below its Oct 6 record close of 7,818.93, according to Yahoo Finance. The small-cap Russell 2000 fell less than the Nasdaq but more than the Dow.

Weekly change, week ended Nov 6Source: Yahoo Finance, CNBC

S&P 500−2.7%
Nasdaq Composite−3.4%
Dow Jones Industrial Average−0.9%
Russell 2000−2.1%
Spot gold+4.8%

What drove markets

1. The Thursday AI and chip selloff

Most of the week's damage came on Thursday, Nov 5. CNBC reported that the S&P 500 fell 4.4%, the Nasdaq Composite 5.5% and the Dow more than 1,800 points, or 3.4%, each the worst one-day loss since April 2025, and that all 11 S&P 500 sectors closed lower. Among chip names, CNBC listed Nvidia down 9.3%, Micron down 17.5%, AMD down 17.3% and Intel down 10.3%. Yahoo Finance put the PHLX Semiconductor Index drop at 12% for the day, its worst since March 2020.

CNBC attributed the selling to worries about a possible slowdown in data center construction following Democratic wins in the House, the Senate and key governorships in the midterm elections. Yahoo Finance likewise tied the move to a Democratic-controlled Congress and concerns about rules that could slow AI-related spending. Yahoo cited Goldman Sachs as estimating that about 45% of planned US data center capacity faces possible restrictions. On Friday the Nasdaq Composite recovered 1.09% and the S&P 500 gained 0.31%, while the Dow slipped 0.46%.

2. A much stronger jobs report

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that nonfarm payrolls rose 165,000 in October and the unemployment rate was 4.1%. CNBC cited estimates of 59,000 jobs (Dow Jones) and a 4.2% jobless rate. Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% on the month and 3.1% from a year earlier, versus estimates of 0.3% and 2.9%. August was revised up to 186,000 and September to 60,000. CNBC noted that the average duration of unemployment rose 2.3 weeks to 27.1 weeks, the highest since September 2021. Professional and business services added 70,000 jobs and health care 42,000.

3. Fed rate-hike expectations

Fed funds sit at 3.75% to 4.00%, CNBC reported, and traders were weighing whether the central bank resumes raising rates at its Dec 8-9 meeting. According to CME FedWatch as cited by CNBC, the probability of a quarter-point hike rose to about 77% after the jobs data, and CNBC separately cited 74.8% in its gold report, with the difference reflecting the time of each quote. The 10-year yield was 4.864% and the 2-year 4.522% on Friday, per CNBC.

4. Oil's sharp weekly drop

WTI futures settled at $90.83 on Friday after a weekly decline of nearly 13%; Brent settled at $98.32 and fell more than 16%, CNBC reported. CNBC and Yahoo Finance both linked the decline to hopes that the Middle East conflict could be resolved diplomatically after the midterms, while both noted that reports of tanker attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and doubts about peace prospects limited the move.

5. Gold and the dollar

CNBC reported that spot gold gained 4.8% on the week even as it slipped 0.7% on Friday after the payrolls data lifted the dollar and Treasury yields.

Server racks in a large data center at night — AI-generated illustration, not a photo.

Sectors and notable stocks

Energy was the weakest area covered in the sources: Yahoo Finance reported the SPDR energy sector fund (XLE) fell 11% for the week, in line with the drop in crude. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) fell 7%. We did not find a sourced weekly ranking of all 11 sectors, so the best-performing sector is not named here.

Chip and AI hardware: besides the Thursday drops above, Yahoo Finance reported that Micron, Sandisk and SK Hynix fell again on Friday.
Airbnb: CNBC reported third-quarter earnings per share of $3.16 against a $2.85 consensus and revenue of $4.87 billion, and the stock rose 11% after hours Thursday.
DraftKings: CNBC reported shares fell 24% after hours Thursday on a loss of 94 cents per share versus an expected loss of 39 cents, and revenue of $1.33 billion against a $1.40 billion estimate.
Iren: CNBC reported the stock gained 4% after hours Thursday, while noting that more than $4 billion of expected annual recurring revenue was delayed until at least January 2027.

Yahoo Finance also reported that the University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment reading was 51 versus 47.3 expected.

What to watch next week

Yahoo Finance reported that the October Consumer Price Index is due Tuesday, Nov 10, at 8:30 a.m. ET (5:30 a.m. PT). With the Fed's Dec 8-9 meeting ahead and traders pricing a possible hike, inflation data are likely to draw close attention. Yahoo also noted that Nvidia is scheduled to report fiscal third-quarter results after the close on Nov 17, the week after next.

Strategists quoted in these reports disagreed on the selloff: Yahoo cited Yardeni Research as calling it an overreaction, while CNBC cited Chris Grisanti of MAI Capital Management as saying investor fears could persist until Democratic officials take office in January. These are their views, not ours.

Sources

Educational content, not investment advice. Facts as of the publish time above; figures come from the linked sources and markets change quickly. Genexus Alpha is not a registered investment adviser or broker.