Stock Market Today (November 6, 2026): Tech Rout

Stock market today: Tech stocks tumble as the Nasdaq dives over 5%, the Nikkei enters a bear market, and investors await the US October jobs report.

Global financial markets were shaken by aggressive selling heading into Friday, November 6, 2026, as an abrupt liquidation in semiconductor and artificial intelligence infrastructure shares battered equities worldwide. In the stock market today, investors across the US, the UK, and Europe are navigating sharp portfolio drawdowns while awaiting key US employment data, following an overnight session where the Nasdaq Composite tumbled into correction territory and Japan's Nikkei 225 slumped into a bear market.

Markets at a glance

The table below summarizes benchmark levels, daily moves, and reference timestamps based on closing and intraday market reports.

Asset	Level / Price	Daily Change	As of
S&P 500	7,303.83 to 7,363.18	-4.23% to -4.4%	Nov 5 close (Trading Economics, Markets Insider)
Nasdaq Composite	24,361.00	-5.34% to -6.4%	Nov 5 close (Markets Insider, Trading Economics)
Dow Jones Industrial Average	51,523.00	-3.4% to -3.44% (-1,833 pts)	Nov 5 close (Investing.com, Seeking Alpha)
FTSE 100	10,782.66	-0.43% (-46.55 pts)	Nov 5 close (Share Talk)
STOXX Europe 600	654.87	-0.38%	Nov 5 close (CappNotes)
Nikkei 225	57,271.19 to 57,634.95	-5.64% to -6.2%	Nov 6 morning session (AP, FourWeekMBA)
Spot Gold (XAU/USD)	$4,083.30 to $4,093.60	-0.10% (-$3.90) to +$6.40	Nov 5, 6:28 PM ET (Kitco)
Brent Crude Oil	$98.49 to $98.53 / bbl	+1.0% to +4.09%	Nov 5, 4:06 PM ET (Markets Insider)
US 10-Year Treasury Yield	4.831% to 4.845%	-5.7 to -6.0 bps	Nov 5 close (Investing.com, Seeking Alpha)
EUR/USD	1.1207 to 1.1218	-0.09% to -0.20%	Nov 5 close (Investing.com, Trading Economics)
Bitcoin (BTC/USD)	$75,700 to $75,855	-5.6% to -6.0%	Nov 5 evening ET (The Block, CappNotes)

(Note: In financial markets, a basis point, or bp, represents one-hundredth of a percentage point, or 0.01%.)

What moved the stock market today

The broad decline was spearheaded by a sudden de-risking across mega-cap technology and hardware names. Following the Democratic sweep of both houses of Congress in the US midterms, investors reassessed the pace of AI infrastructure deployment. Scrutiny mounted over local power bills, electricity grid permitting, and anti-data-center ballot outcomes in states such as Texas and Georgia.

Analyst Leo Nelissen of Main Street Alpha noted: "Today was a stress test for the AI build-out trade, and it failed. With the Nasdaq down more than 5%, investors are pricing in power and funding bottlenecks, and the midterms added a political layer."

The sell-off triggered an acute volatility spike. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX)—a metric tracking options-based expectations for near-term S&P 500 swings—surged 69.66% to 28.18 on November 5, marking its largest single-day jump since April 2025. This forced quantitative and volatility-targeting funds to mechanically reduce stock exposure.

Central bank policy shifts added cross-border pressure:

Bank of England (BoE): The Monetary Policy Committee raised the UK Bank Rate by 25 basis points to 4.00% in an 8–1 vote—its first rate increase since 2023—to curb energy-driven inflation. StoneX analyst Fiona Cincotta observed that the move highlighted UK vulnerability to stagflation, weighing on domestic equities. Learn more about how interest rates affect stocks, gold, and currencies.
Banco de México (Banxico): In a 3–2 split decision, Banxico cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% (against forecasts for 6.50%).
Federal Reserve expectations: CME FedWatch pricing for a 25 basis point Federal Reserve rate hike at the December 8–9 FOMC meeting dropped from approximately 80% down to roughly 66%, pulling US Treasury yields lower.

In digital assets, risk-off deleveraging forced $1.09 billion in crypto derivatives liquidations over 24 hours, impacting more than 211,000 traders according to The Block.

Whether held in US 401(k) accounts regulated by the SEC, UK Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) governed by the FCA, or European retirement plans overseen by ESMA, long-term investor portfolios felt the impact of these global cross-currents. Understanding how stock market indices work helps clarify why automated index-tracking funds amplify these swings.

Top stock movers

Outperformers

AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP): Surged 30.7% to 31.04% to close between $355.27 and $356.10 after posting Q3 earnings beats, raising Q4 revenue guidance to $2.365B–$2.395B, and noting rapid adoption of its AI advertising engine.
Toyota Motor Corp (TYO: 7203 / NYSE: TM): Climbed 16.7% to 17.0% in Tokyo, marking its biggest single-day rally in nearly 40 years. The company lifted its full-year net profit target to ¥3.57 trillion (from ¥3.25 trillion) and projected operating income of ¥3.9 trillion on strong hybrid deliveries (55.6% of sales) and a weaker yen.
Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ: ECPG): Advanced 26.26% to $126.17 on post-earnings buying.
ArcelorMittal (AMS: MT): Rose 5.0% to 6.0% in Amsterdam after beating quarterly operating profit estimates.

Notable decliners

SanDisk Corp (NASDAQ: SNDK): Plunged 22.26% to $806.43 amid severe liquidation across memory hardware.
Semiconductor leaders: Heavy selling hit the broader chip sector, as explored in our coverage on chip stocks tumbling on earnings fears. Micron (NASDAQ: MU) shed 17.5%, Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC) fell 17.4%, AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) lost 17.3%, Lumentum (NASDAQ: LITE) sank 18.7%, and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) slid 9.23%.
Fastly (NYSE: FSLY): Plunged 26.88% to $15.38 following corporate updates and multiple guidance downgrades.
Rheinmetall AG (ETR: RHM): Slumped 13% to 16.3% after trimming full-year 2026 sales guidance from €13.7B–€14.2B to around €13.2B, citing delivery postponements in the German military's Arminius Boxer armored vehicle program.

Gold, oil and currencies

Gold: Spot gold traded at $4,083.30 to $4,093.60 per troy ounce late Thursday, steadying after a sharp session range of $4,057.50 to $4,148.00. Ted Oakley, managing partner at Oxbow Advisors, advised via Kitco News to "keep the bullion, cut the miners as tech stocks tumble," citing gold's uncorrelated hedge qualities during mechanical equity liquidations.
Crude oil: Near-month Brent crude contracts rebounded between 1.0% and 4.09% on Thursday to settle at $98.49–$98.53 per barrel (with cash assessments around $95.00). Geopolitical risks returned to focus as tanker attacks persisted near the Strait of Hormuz and Saudi Arabia placed installations near Yanbu on alert.
Currencies & bonds: The US 10-year Treasury yield retreated 5.7 to 6 basis points to 4.831%–4.845% as bond traders sought shelter. The EUR/USD pair held relatively flat, closing between 1.1207 and 1.1218 (against the European Central Bank official reference rate of 1.1205).

What to watch tomorrow

Markets turn their attention to key macroeconomic releases and corporate earnings scheduled for Friday, November 6:

US Nonfarm Payrolls (8:30 AM ET): The Bureau of Labor Statistics will publish the October employment report. Economists project payroll additions of +65,000 (following +29,000 in September), with the unemployment rate expected to hold at 4.2%.
Pre-market earnings: Major reports are due before the opening bell from Humana (NYSE: HUM), Vistra Corp. (NYSE: VST), Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR), PPL Corp. (NYSE: PPL), and Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN).

FAQ

Why is the Nasdaq down today?

The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.34% to 6.4% on November 5 because investors rapidly sold off semiconductor and AI infrastructure shares. The liquidation followed political shifts from the US midterms that stoked concerns over data center permitting, power grid constraints, and potential regulatory scrutiny.

What caused the Nikkei 225 to enter a bear market?

Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 5.64% to 6.2% on Friday morning, November 6, tracking Wall Street's technology sell-off. A bear market is defined as a drop of 20% or more from recent peaks; the morning drop left the index down 20.4% to 21.3% from its June 25 record high of 72,366.34.

Why did the Bank of England hike interest rates?

On November 5, the Bank of England increased its Bank Rate by 25 basis points to 4.00% in an 8–1 vote. The MPC executed its first hike since 2023 to counteract persistent energy-driven inflation pressures in the UK.

Sources

This article is for informational purposes only and is not financial advice. Markets move quickly; check live prices before making decisions.