NEW YORK — The Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.5% Thursday as a broad retreat from technology and data-center stocks erased Wall Street’s post-election rally.
Nasdaq’s official index record put the composite at 24,315 at the close, down from 25,736.51 a day earlier. The decline left the index more than 10% below its Oct. 6 record, meeting the widely used definition of a correction.
By the close, the S&P 500 had shed 334.89 points, or 4.4%, to 7,353.73, according to The Associated Press. The Dow finished at 51,523.06 after a drop of 1,833.06 points, or 3.4%.
A day after markets rallied on the Democrats’ midterm victories, those gains were gone.
Technology Shares Lead the Decline
Semiconductor and data-center shares led Thursday’s selling. Reuters reported that investors were reassessing the outlook for the buildout of computing infrastructure after candidates who opposed some new data centers won races Tuesday.
Qualcomm also declined after its forecast for smartphone-chip sales fell short of Wall Street expectations, Reuters reported. Nvidia and other chipmakers were among the major technology shares that lost ground.
The selloff extended beyond the largest technology companies. Data-center operators, utilities and equipment suppliers tied to the infrastructure expansion also fell.
Market anxiety rose sharply. Cboe reported that its VIX index closed at 28.18, up 69.66% from the previous close of 16.61. The index measures expectations for near-term volatility based on S&P 500 options prices.
The Associated Press said the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies dropped 4.4% to 2,729.89.
Investors now turn to Friday’s federal employment report. Reuters reported that economists expect payrolls to have increased by 65,000 in October, with unemployment holding at 4.2%.
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