# Chip stocks had their worst day since March 2020 and the Nasdaq fell into a correction. The November 5 selloff, measured

> The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.5% on Thursday and the Philadelphia semiconductor index dropped 12%. Micron and AMD each lost about 17%. Investors priced in a Democratic Congress that could slow AI data center construction, plus a weak Qualcomm outlook, and gave back every gain made after the midterms.

Published Nov 5, 2026 by TechMeasured Staff · Business · Canonical: https://techmeasured.com/business/nasdaq-correction-november-5-chip-stocks-micron-amd-ai-selloff-measured

US stocks had their **worst day in more than 18 months** on Thursday, November 5. The **Nasdaq Composite fell 5.52%** and closed in correction territory, more than 10% below the record it set last month. The **S&P 500 lost 4.36%**, its worst session since April 2025. The **Dow dropped 1,833 points (3.44%) to 51,523.06**, according to Yahoo Finance's market coverage. Chipmakers led the fall. The PHLX Semiconductor index lost **12.25%**, and StockTitan reports that the iShares Semiconductor ETF had its worst day since March 2020.

Why it matters: the stocks that carried the AI trade sold off together, and they sold off on policy risk rather than on any one earnings miss. Wall Street is now treating the pace of US data center construction as a political question. That affects every company selling into the buildout, from GPU makers down to memory suppliers.

## The scoreboard

| Index | Move on Nov 5 |
|---|---|
| Nasdaq Composite | −5.52% (in correction) |
| Nasdaq-100 | −6.36% (about $2.3 trillion of market value erased) |
| S&P 500 | −4.36% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | −1,833 points (−3.44%) |
| PHLX Semiconductor (SOX) | −12.25% |

*Source: Yahoo Finance.*

The biggest chip names closed far lower, according to StockTitan's closing figures:

| Stock | Close | Move |
|---|---|---|
| Micron | $656.39 | −17.46% |
| AMD | $404.40 | −17.26% |
| Marvell | $133.55 | −16.43% |
| Arm | $166.72 | −13.08% |
| Broadcom | $291.53 | −10.43% |
| Intel | $52.25 | −10.33% |
| Qualcomm | $156.75 | −9.49% |
| Nvidia | $181.60 | −9.26% |

StockTitan says those eight stocks fell an average of about 13%. AI cloud provider CoreWeave fell 9.83%. Yahoo Finance reports that Palantir and CrowdStrike were each down more than 10% at their lows, and Tesla and SpaceX each fell more than 9%. Bitcoin dropped more than 5% and briefly traded below $76,000.

The VIX volatility index, Wall Street's "fear gauge," jumped above 27 during the session, according to both Yahoo Finance and StockTitan. StockTitan says its intraday peak of 28.09 was the highest since March 31.

## What triggered it

**The midterms.** Democrats swept the House, the Senate and key governorships on Tuesday, and stocks rallied on Wednesday. The Dow rose nearly 1,600 points that day, according to Investopedia's premarket report. By Thursday, investors were focused on what a Democratic Congress and state governments might do to data centers: limits on new sites, and higher costs for power and water. Nigel Green, CEO of advisory firm deVere Group, told Proactive that power, water, land and borrowing costs "suddenly look less certain." This came two days after local voters rejected data center projects in [43 of 44 decided ballot measures](/business/data-center-ballot-measures-midterms-2026-43-of-44-against-results).

**Qualcomm.** Qualcomm fell more than 10% before the open on a weak outlook. Investopedia tied the outlook to a shortage of smartphone memory components. Its [fiscal Q4 report](/business/qualcomm-q4-fy26-handsets-down-26-percent-autos-up-89-data-center-5-billion-bet) showed phone chip revenue down 26%. Memory stocks also fell before the open: Investopedia says the Roundhill Memory ETF was down 6% premarket.

**Profit-taking became a rout.** Yahoo Finance reports that institutions sold 2026's best AI performers to lock in gains, and retail traders followed. Retail net selling of $358 million was on track for the biggest retail selling day since 2020. Nomura strategist Charlie McElligott told Yahoo Finance: "They're shooting the generals." Money rotated into defensive sectors. StockTitan says consumer staples, health care and utilities were up in late-morning trading.

## It didn't start Thursday

Thursday added to losses that were already a month old. According to Yahoo Finance, Lam Research is down 36% over the past month, Applied Materials 30%, AMD 22% and Nvidia 15%. AMD CEO Lisa Su said the market "can sometimes be a little bit short-sighted," Yahoo Finance reported.

## What to watch

- **Whether policy talk becomes policy.** No new federal data center rules exist yet. The selloff priced in expectations. Watch statements from incoming committee chairs and governors, and the further local data center votes scheduled for December.
- **Earnings that report after the selloff.** In after-hours trading, Cloudflare rose 14.57% and Atlassian fell 15.98% on their results, according to StockTitan. Software is getting judged one company at a time while chips trade as a group.
- **Memory supply.** Qualcomm says memory shortages are hurting phone demand, yet Micron and other memory makers fell alongside everyone else. If the shortage lasts, that pattern is worth watching.

If you hold tech index funds, note that the Nasdaq-100 is heavily weighted toward these same names. That's why it fell more than the S&P 500. TechMeasured doesn't give investment advice. A correction means a 10% fall from a recent high, and it says nothing about what happens next.


## Sources

1. [Yahoo Finance — Stock market today: Dow plunges 1,800 points, Nasdaq enters correction in AI trade meltdown](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/live/stock-market-today-thursday-november-5-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-oil-rises-chip-stocks-141439950.html)
2. [StockTitan — The stock market today, November 5, 2026, closed sharply lower as the AI chip selloff spread](https://www.stocktitan.net/articles/stock-market-today-live-november-5-2026)
3. [Proactive via Yahoo Finance — Chip stocks hammered as political shift raises AI infrastructure concerns](https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/chip-stocks-hammered-political-shift-162300534.html)
4. [Investopedia via Yahoo Finance — Stock market today: futures mixed (Nov. 5 premarket)](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/stock-market-today-futures-mixed-130952710.html)