Key takeaways
- The Nasdaq Composite fell more than 5% earlier Thursday, then recovered to a 3.90% decline in an 11:28 a.m. ET quotation.
- Semiconductor losses were substantially deeper than the broad-market decline, while selected earnings winners advanced sharply.
- A partial rebound does not settle the questions around AI spending, financing costs and the durability of company profits.
Wall Street’s technology selloff accelerated Thursday, November 5, pushing the Nasdaq Composite down more than 5% during the morning and dragging the Dow and S&P 500 lower. AP’s 11 a.m. ET market report put the S&P 500 down 3.2%, the Dow lower by 1,146 points, or 2.1%, and the Nasdaq down 5%. Those were intraday readings, not final results.
The market subsequently recovered some ground. Nasdaq’s Composite quotation showed 24,731.67 at 11:28 a.m. ET, down 3.90% from Wednesday’s 25,736.51 close. Its session low of 24,262.15 was about 5.73% below that close. The difference between the earlier plunge and the later reading matters in a fast-moving session; the exchange quotation is delayed.
Chips bear the heaviest pressure
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index was down 8.75% in an 11:26 a.m. ET quotation. Around 11:22–11:23 a.m. ET, AMD fell 11.95%, Qualcomm 11.41%, Arm 10.99% and Micron 10.67%. Nvidia declined 6.77% and Broadcom 6.22%, according to Nasdaq’s individual stock quotations.
These are different businesses with different exposures. Memory pricing, smartphone demand, accelerator orders and licensing revenue should not be treated as interchangeable. Their simultaneous declines nevertheless show how quickly investors can reduce exposure across the semiconductor supply chain.
Qualcomm’s latest earnings release reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $10.322 billion under GAAP and diluted EPS of $1.17. Its non-GAAP diluted EPS was $2.17. The distinction is material: an adjusted earnings figure cannot substitute for the GAAP result when comparing profitability, and one chipmaker’s report cannot explain every peer’s decline.
Why large indexes can fall while other stocks soar
AppLovin rose 29.53% and Krispy Kreme 30.48% around 11:22 a.m. ET. Their company-specific earnings reactions coexisted with sharp selling in larger technology businesses. Oracle, for example, was down 6.62% at approximately the same time.
The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 give larger companies greater influence through market-capitalization weighting. A group of substantial losses can therefore outweigh impressive percentage gains elsewhere. The Dow uses price weighting, so its different construction also helps explain why the benchmarks do not move together point for point.
The investment question extends beyond whether AI demand is growing. Investors must assess the price paid for that growth, the capital required to deliver it and the cash left after investment. A reassessment of financing or returns can hurt chips, computing infrastructure and associated power projects together. That is a transmission risk, not evidence that every customer has cancelled spending.
Power and industrial holdings offer no automatic shelter
The Real-Money Portfolio’s published October 31 roster includes businesses outside semiconductors, but those holdings were not immune. Solaris Energy Infrastructure fell 4.25%, Talen Energy 3.53%, Pentair 1.76% and Howard Hughes 2.14% around 11:22–11:23 a.m. ET.
Solaris and Talen bring power-demand exposure, Pentair serves water-related equipment markets and Howard Hughes adds property exposure. Diversifying business models can reduce reliance on one earnings story, but it cannot eliminate common funding and market risks. These stock readings should not be mistaken for the model portfolio’s daily return or for actual investor results.
The next test arrives Friday
The Bureau of Labor Statistics calendar schedules October’s employment report for November 6 at 8:30 a.m. ET. It remains an upcoming release. Payrolls, wages and unemployment could change expectations for demand and interest rates; none of those outcomes is known yet.
A stronger recovery would need participation beyond a few exceptional earnings names and less pressure across chips. Further selling would keep valuation, funding and cash generation at the centre of the debate. Thursday’s rebound from the lows is a development to monitor, rather than confirmation that the decline has ended.
Research only, not investment advice.