Silicon Goes Down, $BTC Holds Its Breath: $2 Trillion Erased

U.S. stocks lost roughly $2 trillion in market value within an hour of the open on Thursday, November 5, 2026, as the S&P 500 reversed Wednesday’s post-midnight election rally and investors monitored circuit-breaker thresholds. The S&P 500 fell 1.8% in the first 30 minutes, erasing Wednesday’s 1.6% gain—its best day in three months—and later lost as much as 3.8%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.3%, entering correction territory at 10% or more below its recent peak, while the Dow fell 1,000 points.

Technology and semiconductor shares led the sell-off. The chip index fell 11.2% in early trading, its worst performance since March 2020, while the broader semiconductor index plunged nearly 11% around 11 a.m. ET. AMD fell nearly 15%, Qualcomm dropped almost 12%, Micron lost about 15%, Tesla fell about 10%, Broadcom declined nearly 5%, and Nvidia traded between 7% and 8% lower. The S&P 500’s losses were described as its worst intraday drop since April 2025, before narrowing to 3.5% while the Nasdaq remained down 5.3%.

Democratic control of both chambers of Congress and the election of three governors opposed to rapid data-center expansion added pressure on AI infrastructure companies. Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa pledged a moratorium on new construction and an end to subsidies for big developers; Georgia Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms promised a temporary statewide pause to study the effect on electricity bills; and Ohio Governor-elect Amy Acton wants new projects blocked unless developers pay all their own utility costs. Texas alone is projected to hold nearly 30% of US data center capacity by 2028, according to a Bloom Energy report cited by Fortune. Data centers are the main buyers of AI chips made by Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom. “Tech needs to adjust and focus on a slower pace of this AI rollout,” Dan Ives, longtime tech analyst at YorkVille, told Fortune.

Qualcomm also reported late Wednesday that handset chip revenue fell 26% to $5.14 billion, missing analyst estimates as rising memory-chip costs pushed up phone prices. Global smartphone shipments fell 20% in the September quarter to a 14-year low, according to Counterpoint Research. “...margin outlook is lousy,” Stacy Rasgon, analyst at Bernstein, said. AI-spending concerns were already building: the Nasdaq-100 lost roughly $2 trillion in October, while Oracle and Marvell fell Wednesday as investors assessed plans to fund their AI build-outs.

The S&P 500 would need to fall another 3.2 percentage points from its reported decline to reach the first 7% circuit-breaker threshold, or 7,150.41 points. Reaching that level before 3:25 p.m. ET would trigger a 15-minute halt across US equity markets; a 13% decline, or 6,689.09 points, would trigger another 15-minute suspension, while a 20% decline, or 6,150.89 points, would halt trading for the remainder of the day. The first two thresholds stop applying at 3:25 p.m. ET, while the 20% threshold remains active throughout the session, and the rules cover the entire US equity market, including Nasdaq-listed companies. Less than 24 hours after writing on Truth Social, “Stock Market just hit another Record High—91 Days in just a short period of time—Less than two years. Your 401(k)s are through the roof,” President Donald Trump closed his message with “Record Setting All! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”