Weekly Market Performance — November 6, 2026

LPL Research provides its Weekly Market Performance for the week of November 2, 2026. Stocks stumbled in the first week of November as concerns over AI financing and data center development sparked a broad Thursday sell-off. After a brief post-midterm election bounce, worries of constraints on the data center buildout sent chipmakers sharply lower, morphing into a widespread market pullback. International markets delivered mixed results, with the less AI-exposed European markets holding up better, while Asian exchanges most exposed to the AI supply chain fell. Treasuries rose on a haven bid, outweighing the effects of a strong monthly payrolls report, while oil fell sharply on hopes for easing U.S.-Iran tensions. 

Stock Index Performance

S&P 500 Index Sectors

Fixed Income and Commodities

Source: LPL Research, Bloomberg 11/6/26 @2:51 p.m. ET
Disclosures: Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested in directly.

U.S. and International Equities

U.S. Equities: Major averages ended lower over the first week of November as a rotation away from artificial intelligence (AI) shares gave way to broader selling sparked by post-midterms data center development concerns. Market debates around cleaner positioning versus little sign of capitulation, AI financing concerns, and preparation for midterm election results left the S&P 500 little changed early in the week. But Wednesday brought a broad advance after Democratic candidates secured majorities in both chambers of Congress and gubernatorial races in key AI states including Texas, Georgia, and Ohio. However, the election clarity and lower oil prices (fueled by President Trump stating there was no immediate Iran strike plan) that lifted 75% of the S&P 500 was short-lived.

Disorderly selling wiped out post-election gains in the worst session for the equity benchmark since the so-called April 2025 tariff tantrum.Worries of constrictive data center and AI regulation and some disappointing tech earnings spread into a wider retreat from equities. Harsh tech sector selling led 85% of the S&P 500 lower Thursday, with additional pressure credited to a bounce in crude prices and forced selling dynamics. Nonetheless, chipmakers bounced off of oversold conditions Friday, trimming week-to-date losses despite a much stronger-than-expected payrolls report that keeps the door open to a December rate hike from the Federal Reserve (Fed).  

International Equities: European equities benefited this week from the region's lower relative AI exposure, keeping the STOXX 600 Index slightly above the weekly unchanged point. Investors searching for opportunities outside of the AI trade, some upbeat earnings reports, lower oil prices, and rising metals prices lifting mining names helped power the pan-European benchmark to its first record high since August. However, the global sell-off did trim gains, while a larger-than-expected decline in September Eurozone retail sales further dented sentiment heading into the weekend. Also on the macro front, the Bank of England fulfilled expectations of its first tightening move since 2023, citing inflation risk.

Major Asia-Pacific exchanges delivered widely mixed results as selling across the AI supply chain contrasted with strength in greater China and Southeast Asia. Weak overnight handoffs from Wall Street and concerns over regulatory pushback on U.S. data center development sent South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan's Nikkei each down over 11%. But the intensified rotation out of the AI supply chain benefitted consumer and internet shares in Hong Kong and mainland China, with both markets gaining with further help from the potential for additional market support from Beijing. Australia's gain was supported by mining companies, while New Zealand and India both rose on limited AI exposure.  

Fixed Income, Currency, and Commodity Markets

Fixed Income: Core bonds, measured by the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Index traded higher for a fifth week in a row, powered by a late-week haven bid amid the post-midterm sell-off on AI data center and capacity worries. For bond investors, the election changed the risk, but not the math. Democrats swept Congressional races and Treasury yields fell across the curve, but the bigger signal came from a weekly loss in oil prices. Inflation expectations followed, and the 10-year breakeven rate is now back to unchanged for the year, suggesting that some inflation fears have been taken out of the market. It also tells us something important: inflation expectations aren't what pushed yields up. Investors are demanding higher real returns, and one election doesn't fix that. Gridlock may limit new spending, but it does nothing to shrink the deficit already in place.  

AI credit is where the election hit hardest. CoreWeave's 2031 bonds traded as low as 79.5 cents, with its 2030 and 2032 debt yielding above 15%, after Texas elected a governor who has called for a moratorium on data centers. We view this as a company and sector problem rather than a systemic one, as investors are finally separating AI companies with strong balance sheets from those that depend on continued access to debt markets. 

Elsewhere, the quarterly refunding announcement also made headlines, giving long-end investors a small gift. The Treasury dropped “at least” from its pledge to hold auction sizes steady for the next several quarters, opening the door to changes in 2027. We think the 20- and 30-year are the natural candidates for cuts, given their uneven demand at auction. 

Commodities and Currencies: The broader commodities complex dropped this week, dragged down by energy prices. Crude futures tumbled well over 10% as investors weighed the prospects of an end to the U.S.-Iran conflict. Remarks from the White House that no immediate strike plans are in place and that the conflict was a large contributor to the midterm's blue wave fueled a sharp Wednesday drop. Reports that Tehran is reviewing proposals about its nuclear program, suggesting that diplomatic efforts by mediators in Qatar are having some success also weighed on prices. While oil did stabilize, the recent uptick in Iranian vessel strikes, constrained product exports from the Gulf, and U.S. diesel inventories to falling to levels last seen in 2003 limited losses. On the other hand, gold prices rallied over 4% as investors flocking to the safety of bonds lowered yields, increasing the appeal of non-yielding bullion. The yellow metal did end off of weekly highs after falling Friday as a strong nonfarm payrolls report lifted December rate hike expectations and pushed the U.S. Dollar Index into positive territory on the week. Silver and platinum also rose, while copper fell amid the headwind of AI buildout concerns.  

Economic Weekly Roundup

Key Talking Points from the October Payroll Release: 

• Higher participation rates coupled with lower unemployment build the case for a December hike. 
• October payrolls rose 165k, much higher than the breakeven rate of roughly 35k. And don’t overlook the significant upward revisions to last month’s job gains. 
• A fall in unemployment amid rising participation rates suggests that the labor market is tight, so we should expect wages to rise as firms compete for workers. 
• Part of the gains last month were from health care services. The aging population will keep this job sector growing. 
• The other category worth watching is Management and Technical Consulting services. The AI buildout and corporate interests to increase utilization will keep the technical consultants employed. Yes, these categories are the first to feel the effects of an economic downturn, but we can’t forget the consistent double-digit growth for these jobs in the late 90s as firms implemented new technology into corporate workflows. 
• Wages grew 3.1% from a year ago, not quite keeping up with inflation but given the tightness of the job market in several sectors, we should expect wages to rebound. 

Bottom Line: The Federal Open Market Committee has the support from the job market to raise rates in December. We are already hearing from several members of the Committee that rates should be higher if inflation does not improve. For now, the focus will be on the upcoming CPI data as well as the holiday sales outlook. Although consumers are tapping into savings to support spending habits, we expect a healthy retail sales period heading into the new year. 

The Week Ahead

The following economic data is slated for the week ahead:  

• Monday: Wholesale Trade Sales (Sep), New York Fed One-Year Inflation Expectations (Oct) 
• Tuesday: NFIB Small Business Optimism (Oct), ADP Weekly Employment Change (Oct 24), Headline and Core CPI (Oct), Real Average Weekly and Hourly Earnings (Oct) 
• Wednesday: MBA Mortgage Applications (Nov 6)  
• Thursday: Initial Jobless Claims (Nov 7), Continuing Claims (Oct 31), Existing Home Sales (Oct), Federal Budget Balance (Oct) 
• Friday: Headline and Core PPI (Oct)