Dow tumbles 1,600 points, erasing its postelection rally; Nasdaq plummets 5%: Live updates

Chip stocks tumbled Thursday, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF falling close to 11%. A closing decline greater than 10.44% marks its worst day since March 2020 with every component down more than 6%.

After a Democratic sweep of both chambers of Congress, which could spell more regulation of the AI buildout, stocks tied to the AI trade, particularly those linked to the chips industry and data centers slid for a second day. 

Astera Labs and MACOM Technology Solutions fell roughly 17% and 18%, respectively. AMD and Micron dropped 15% each, while Arm slid about 12%. The SOXX was down 15% for the week.

— Deena Zaidi and Nick Wells

The equity market sell-off is easing pressure on the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates at its last meeting of the year, on Dec. 9.

Odds that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates a quarter percentage point from their current 3.75%-4.00% range have fallen to 70.1%, down from 82.7% on Wednesday and 79.9% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool, which is based on 30-day fed funds futures prices.

Conversely, the chance that the Kevin Warsh-led central bank will be able to keep rates where they are in December stands at 29.9% at midday Thursday, up from 17.3% on Wednesday and 20.1% a week ago

— Scott Schnipper

Global Payments didn't use its third-quarter earnings report to confirm speculation that the company is working out a deal to go private, but it did show that it is continuing to integrate its Worldpay acquisition, which CNBC expects will support its stock in the future.

Shares are trading higher despite the broader market pullback. The payments company earned $3.58 per share after adjustments, in line with the FactSet consensus estimate and an increase of 10% year-on-year. It reaffirmed its full year 2026 outlook.

Adjusted operating margin rose 220 basis points to 42.5%, powered by the successful capture of operational efficiencies and synergies from the Worldpay integration. The company now expects Worldpay synergies of $650 million, up from $600 million previously, by the end of 2028.

Global Payments all-in-one Genius point-of-sale and business management platform saw strong growth in the quarter with bookings more than doubling year-on-year. Performance in the Middle East continues to be hurt by the war, but was "generally in line with our expectations," CFO Josh Whipple said on the earnings call. He categorized the recovery as "very uneven and inconsistent."

Management declined to comment on reported buyout talks with Clayton Dubilier & Rice and shareholder GTCR, saying it doesn't "comment on market rumors or speculation."

On the call, CEO Cameron Bready said he is "not really going to be able to get into the reporting or any of the specifics around it."

— Justin Zacks

Declines for the super intelligence, or artificial intelligence, trade still have a long way to go, investment strategists at the Macro Research Board are warning on Thursday.

"The shakeout in A.I.-related stocks has much further to run," the firm said in a Thursday note. Researchers said that "investors are beginning to question excessive forward profit estimates."

They recommend diversifying away from tech stocks amid general sensitivities in equities. 

"In this environment, our bet has been a churn in the aggregate U.S. and global stocks indexes (at least for now), but with a meaningful rotation underneath the surface (including divergences in the absolute price of stocks/sectors)," they said, adding that monetary and fiscal policy are not currently restrictive.

— Tobias Burns

Tech stocks are getting pummeled on Thursday.

Chip stocks central to the AI trade in particular are getting walloped. Micron and AMD are down 16% and GPU powerhouse Nvidia is down 8%.

MU, 1-day

Wall Street is measured on the outlook for Qualcomm after the company delivered a weak earnings forecast on Wednesday. Analyst Stacey Rasgon at Bernstein has a market-perform rating on the stock and a price target of $155; Joseph Moore at Morgan Stanley has an equal-weight rating and a price target of $197.

Customer diversification is the buzzword on the Street for Qualcomm, as mentioned in multiple research notes.

"The debate has shifted to diversification: ambitious data center targets of $5B in FY27 and $15B+ in FY29, and continued strength in autos," Morgan Stanley's Moore said on Thursday.

— Tobias Burns

Gold and silver futures climbed Thursday as a weaker U.S. dollar and lower Treasury yields supported a rally following the U.S. midterm elections. Falling oil prices eased inflation concerns.

December gold futures touched $4,155.80 an ounce, their highest since October 22, while December silver reached $53.49, its highest since October 29.

Gold stock price

The yellow metal is up more than 5% this week as silver has gained more than 6%. Gold was on pace for its strongest weekly advance since the week ended Aug. 7, while silver was heading for its best week since Aug. 21.

Gold miners joined the rally, with the VanEck Gold Miners ETF up about 1% on Thursday and more than 10% this week. Harmony Gold and IAMGOLD are among the leaders, each gaining more than 13% this week. Equinox Gold has risen more than 15% on the week.

— Deena Zaidi and Gina Francolla

Nasdaq Composite dips into correction

.VIX, 1-day

The Dow Jones Industrial Average began Thursday's session in the green.

The blue-chip Dow added 334 points, or 0.6%, just after the opening bell. The S&P 500 dipped 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.7%.

— Sean Conlon

Jobless claims slipped further last week, hovering around levels not seen since the late 1960s, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Initial filings for unemployment claims totaled a seasonally adjusted 189,000 for the week ended Oct. 31, down 6,000 from the prior period and below the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 197,000. The total tied for the lowest since July, which was the bottom going back to September 1969.

Continuing claims, which run a week behind, rose 23,000 to 1.72 million.

— Jeff Cox

Productivity posted a stronger-than-expected jump in the third quarter while the portion of output that showed up in worker pay hit a record low, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday.

Nonfarm business sector productivity surged 3.6% for the period, up from 2.1% in the second quarter and well ahead of the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 2.9%. Compensation less productivity, a metric known as unit labor costs, contracted 0.7%.

At the the same, the percentage of output that goes to workers in the form of compensation, known as the labor share, slipped further to 53%, the lowest in a data series that dates back to 1947.

— Jeff Cox

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

• Shake Shack — Shares rose 3.8% after the fast-food chain published its third-quarter results. Adjusted earnings per share of 40 cents topped an LSEG estimate of 35 cents per share. Revenue of $423 million was just below the $426 million consensus. Management also reaffirmed the company's full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion.
• Peloton Interactive — The maker of fitness equipment jumped 7% after Peloton Interactive posted fiscal first-quarter revenue of $559 million, besting the LSEG consensus estimate of $554 million. However, earnings of 19 cents per share missed the 21 cents expected.
• Wendy's — Shares were little changed after the fast food chain rejected a $1.4 billion takeover offer from a Trian Fund Management-led group. The group late last month offered $7.35 per share in cash to take Wendy's private.

Read the full list here.

— Sarah Min

The stock market skyrocketed on Wednesday on the heels of a decisive sweep for Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections. But that was not necessarily the only driver of the climb.

"President Trump's acknowledgement of the Democrats' victory in the midterms and his expressed openness to collaborating with the opposition have helped markets to rally on hopes that contestation of the results and more adverse polarization can be avoided," said Thomas Hempell, Generali Investments senior economist. 

Trump told The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal overnight Tuesday that he accepted the results and would work with Democrats. Those headlines coincided with a rebound in stock market futures.

Read the full story here.

— Sean Conlon

Wendy's shares were down slightly after the fast food chain on Thursday rejected a a $1.4 billion takeover offer from a Trian Fund Management-led group.

The group late last month offered $7.35 per share in cash to take Wendy's private.

— Fred Imbert

The U.S. midterms could widen the AI divide: tighter data center rules may reward tech giants with capacity in hand and squeeze debt-funded companies trying to catch up.

Democratic victories in key gubernatorial races raised the prospect of tougher scrutiny for data center projects, adding to investor concerns about how quickly new capacity can be built and financed.

The FTSE 100 touched a three-month high on Thursday morning.

The U.K.'s blue-chip index rose as much as 119 points to 10,948, up more than 1.1% in early trading and reaching its highest level since Aug 7. The index was last seen 0.86% higher.

The rise comes as traders await the Bank of England's latest interest rate decision, due later Thursday. The market expects the central bank's rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee to raise rates by 25 basis points to 4% from 3.75% — its first hike in more than three years.

FTSE 100.

Shares in British lenders moved higher ahead of the BoE's decision, due at 12:00 p.m. in London (7:00 a.m. E.T.). Barclays was up 2.2%, while Lloyds Banking Group added 1.9% and NatWest was 1.4% higher.

Sterling was up almost 0.1% against the dollar at $1.3482.

— Hugh Leask

German defense giant Rheinmetall cut its full-year guidance late Wednesday, citing delays to military contracts and ammunition deliveries, sending shares down as much as 16% in early trading.

Rheinmetall said it's revising its 2026 guidance due to delays in the German military's Arminius Boxer project, now expected to be commissioned next year, and setbacks in artillery ammunition acceptance testing.

Read more here.

— Elsa Ohlen

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.48% shortly after 8:05 a.m. in London (3:05 a.m. in E.T.), as the continent's major bourses and sectors opened the day in the green.

Basic resources led gains, rising 2.51%, followed by autos and parts, which rose 2.05%. Travel and leisure stocks added 1.76%. Oil and gas reversed by 1.84%.

In Paris, France's CAC 40 was up 1.08%, as the U.K. FTSE 100 advanced 1.05% in London. In Milan, the Italian FTSE MIB was up almost 0.1%, and Germany's DAX added 0.16% in Frankfurt.

Diageo said the U.S-Iran war is continuing to weigh on operations in its first-quarter trading update on Thursday after net sales rose marginally.

The British spirits giant, which owns brands including Johnnie Walker scotch whisky, Guinness stout, Smirnoff vodka and Tanqueray gin, said net sales were up 1.2% to $4.9 billion year-on-year, while organic volume growth declined 0.1% and price/mix was up 0.7%.

"Whilst the market remains challenging, and volatility continues given the geopolitical uncertainty and impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East on energy, supply and distribution, results in the first quarter represent a small step in the right direction," Diageo's CEO Sir Dave Lewis said in the update.

Diageo said earlier this year that it's embarking on a restructuring strategy which will amount to $1.2 billion in savings over 2027 and 2028.

— Sawdah Bhaimiya

Asia-Pacific markets closed mixed Thursday.

South Korea's Kospi fell 5.28%, leading losses in the region to end the trading day at 5,383.8. The small-cap, tech-focused Kosdaq fell 5.11%, closing at 678.41.

Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 1.79% to 61,077.9, and the broad-based Topix gained 1.16% at 3,940.39.

Mainland China's CSI 300 rose 0.29% to 4,113.41, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 3.61% as of its last hour of trade.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 2.61% to 9,065.1.

— Lee Ying Shan

Maersk generated $4.7 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the third-quarter, up from $2.6 billion in the same period last year.

In its third-quarter interim report, the Danish shipping and logistics mainstay raised its full-year profit guidance for a third time this year to between $14 billion and $14.5 billion, up from $10.5-12.5 billion.

Maersk said the Strait of Hormuz closure, adverse weather conditions in East Asia and broader congestion helped push average freight rates 46% higher, driving strong performance within its Ocean business.

"Despite continued geopolitical uncertainty and disruptions, global trade has remained remarkably resilient," Vincent Clerc, Maersk CEO, said.

"Demand is being driven not only by consumer spending, but increasingly by major investments in electrification, energy and the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure, generating significant flows of industrial cargo around the world."

 — Hugh Leask

The U.K. FTSE 100 is set to open 1.11% higher, with stock markets across Europe expected to begin Thursday's session in positive territory.

Futures tied to the Stoxx 50 were up 0.32% ahead of the opening bell.

France's CAC 40 is seen 0.29% higher, with Germany's DAX rising 0.36% and the Italian FTSE MIB up almost 0.1%

— Hugh Leask

Commerzbank's net profit reached 859 million euros ($967 million) in the third quarter, a 45% year-on-year jump, as third-quarter revenues rose 9% to 3.2 billion euros.

The rise was driven by a rise in securities-related fees, along with higher interest income from corporate lending and deposits.

Operating profits rose 17% to 40 billion in the first nine months of 2026, with net profits up 41% to 2.7 billion, which the German lender described in its quarterly earnings update Thursday as its best nine-month result on record.

Meanwhile, net interest income increased to 2.1 billion in the third quarter, as common equity tier (CET) 1 ratio — a measure of a bank's solvency — was 14.2% for the period, down slightly from the previous second quarter's 14.4%.

With Italian bank UniCredit on track to acquire the Frankfurt-listed lender, Commerzbank said it expects the remaining regulatory approvals for the deal to be approved in the fourth quarter or by early 2027.

"We are convinced that together with UniCredit, we can create value by consistently leveraging the strengths of both banks," said Commerzbank CEO Bettina Orlopp.

— Hugh Leask

Indonesia's economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter, expanding 5.47% from a year earlier.

That surpassed the 5.18% expansion expected by economists polled by Reuters, and was faster than the 5.29% seen in the preceding quarter.

Growth was powered by government spending, as well as accommodation and food service activities.

The data comes at a time when the country is seeing widespread student protests over income disparity, cost of living and environmental concerns.

The country's benchmark index rose nearly 2%.

— Lim Hui Jie

Shares of Australian data center operator NextDC surged 48% Thursday after Goodman Group and U.S.-listed data center operator Digital Realty moved to acquire up to 9.9% of the company.

NextDC said in a regulatory filing that the two companies conducted an aftermarket bookbuild on Wednesday, seeking shares at A$9.50 apiece.

NextDC's board called the move "opportunistic," noting that it came two weeks after the company disclosed a power supply delay at its M3 Melbourne data center and revised its fiscal 2027 guidance.

— Jenny Lee

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Tech index jumped more than 5% on Thursday, bucking a broader sell-off in technology stocks across Asia as Chinese tech heavyweights rallied.

Tech giant Alibaba surged 6.36%, while Tencent climbed 6.42%. Baidu and Kingsoft Cloud also rose 4.9% and 6.44%, respectively.

Chinese tech stocks rose even as those in Japan and South Korea dropped after a Democratic sweep in U.S. midterm elections stoked worries over curbs on AI infrastructure buildout.

— Lee Ying Shan

Asian semiconductor stocks tumbled Thursday, as investors weighed the implications of a sweeping Democratic victory in the U.S. midterm elections for the artificial intelligence sector.

Japanese chip-testing equipment maker Advantest plunged 11.69% and Lasertec shed 11.76%. Tokyo Electron declined 9.89%, while Renesas Electronics fell 6.37%, respectively. Tech-focused investment firm Softbank Group was down over 6%.

South Korean chipmakers also came under heavy selling pressure. Memory chip giant SK Hynix slumped 9.03%, while Samsung Electronics dropped 6.65%.

The sell-off comes amid concerns that a Democratic-controlled Congress could usher in tighter restrictions on data-center development, potentially weighing on demand for AI-related infrastructure and chips.

— Lee Ying Shan

Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed on Thursday.

Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.49%, while the Topix rose over 2%. South Korea's Kospi was down 2.33%, and the tech-focused, small-cap Kosdaq fell 1.24%.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.39%.

—Lee Ying Shan

Asia-Pacific markets were set to jump Thursday, tracking a Wall Street rally overnight as a decisive Democratic victory in the U.S. midterm elections eased political uncertainty, while a sharp drop in oil prices lifted investor sentiment.

Democrats secured control of both chambers of Congress, raising expectations of legislative gridlock that could constrain President Donald Trump's policy agenda. Trump's acceptance of the election results also helped calm investors.

Futures for Japan's Nikkei 225 in Chicago were at 63,160 while in Osaka they were last at 63,110 compared with the index's previous close of 62,188.63.

Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index last traded at 24,425 compared with the index's last close of 23,919.5.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.81% in early trading.

Sentiment was further buoyed by an over 8% plunge in crude oil prices, as investors anticipated growing pressure on the Trump administration to bring an end to the war in Iran following Republican election losses.

— Lee Ying Shan

Check out the companies making the biggest moves after the bell:

• Arm Holdings — Shares dipped almost 2% despite the designer of central processing units delivering a strong earnings report. The UK-based company reported adjusted earnings of 52 cents per share, compared to analysts polled by LSEG's consensus estimates for 47 cents.
• Expedia — Shares tumbled more than 7% after it delivered mostly weaker-than-expected guidance for the current quarter. The online booking company forecasts revenue between $3.69 billion and $3.75 billion in the fourth quarter, but analysts polled by FactSet on average expected $3.74 billion. The company, however, beat estimates for both earnings and revenue in the third quarter.
• Coherent — The optical materials company gained 7% after reporting adjusted earnings of $2.09 per share, compared to analysts polled by FactSet's estimates for $1.99 per share. Revenue also came in above estimates, as did guidance for the current quarter.

Read the full list here.

— Davis Giangiulio