Nvidia Slides 8% Before the Bell, but Data Centers Still Need Power

Chip stocks are handing back part of Wednesday's rally. Utilities, one of seven equal sectors in the even-weight strategy, get paid on the power data centers draw, and the 30-year auction at 1 PM tests what they pay to borrow.

Brad Roth
November 12, 2026

TL;DR

• Nvidia is down 7.9% before the open, a day after chips led the Nasdaq 100 up 2.31%. Nasdaq 100 futures are off 0.70%, and Dow futures are slightly green.

• Utilities earn on the electricity data centers already use, not on chip margins. The sector rose 0.21% Wednesday while technology jumped 3.23%.

• Cash Treasuries reopen after Veterans Day with the ten-year at 4.998%. The Treasury sells 30-year bonds at 1 PM.

Market Pulse

Futures as of 7:15 AM ET (10-minute delay), commodities and yields as of 7:25 AM ET, currencies as of 7:07 AM ET

• S&P 500 futures are down 0.31% at 7,616.75.

• Nasdaq 100 futures are down 0.70% at 28,272.75.

• Dow futures are up 0.09% at 52,623.

• Russell 2000 futures are down 0.04% at 2,852.50.

Wednesday was a broad up day. The S&P 500 gained 1.32%, the Nasdaq 100 2.31%, the Dow 0.52% and the Russell 2000 0.89%. Consumer discretionary was the only sector to close red, down 0.05%.

• West Texas is $85.72, down 0.94%. Brent is $92.08, down 0.73%.

• Gold is $3,948.90, down 1.29%. Silver is down 1.88% at $51.02, and copper is down 1.15% at $6.22.

• The ten-year is 4.998%, down 0.6 basis points. The two-year is 4.759%, up 3.2, and the three-month bill is 4.244%.

• Euro/dollar is 1.1092. The dollar buys 159.61 yen. VIX futures are 18.47, up 2.32%. Bitcoin is $72,898, down 1.34%.

• Japan's Nikkei futures are down 1.59%. Jobless claims land at 8:30, with 194,000 expected, and October existing home sales follow at 10.

THOR Risk Gauge

Neutral. Nasdaq 100 futures are down 0.70% on the Nvidia drop and VIX futures are up 2.3% to 18.47. The ten-year sits just under 5% as cash bond trading resumes, and five Fed officials speak today.

The THOR View

The artificial intelligence trade reaches utilities through the electric meter, and that's a sturdier link than a chip stock's share price. Nvidia gained 2.87% Wednesday and is down 7.9% this morning. Technology rose 3.23% on the day and semiconductors 4.82%, so the selling hits the stocks that just ran. Utilities moved 0.21% and didn't need the rally. A data center that's already wired draws the same power whatever Nvidia does before the bell. The local utility gets paid on that load, under rates a state regulator sets, not on what a chip sells for.

Rates are the other half of the story, and today they get a real test. Cash Treasuries reopen with the ten-year at 4.998%, and the 30-year auction at 1 PM is close to what a utility pays to borrow for a new plant or power line. Regulators set the return a utility may earn on what it builds, and those allowed returns follow long-term rates, slowly. Higher yields pinch first and reach customer bills later. This morning the two-year is up 3.2 basis points while the ten-year slips. That pressure sits at the short end, where utilities do the least of their borrowing.

The even-weight lineup is built for a morning like this one. Its seven sectors sell power, medicine, groceries, loans, rent, metals and everyday goods. Their earnings show up in monthly bills and quarterly reports, so a selloff in the year's most crowded trade reaches them last.

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Signal Watch

THOR Index Rotation — As of 11/11/26

Nvidia is a Dow member, but the Dow weights by share price, so at about $174 it counts for far less there than in the S&P 500. That's one reason Dow futures are holding up better than the Nasdaq 100 this morning.

THOR Low Volatility — As of 11/11/26

Utilities, healthcare and real estate each moved less than a quarter point Wednesday while the S&P 500 gained 1.32%. They sell bills people pay every month, so chip sentiment doesn't swing them in either direction.

THOR AdaptiveRisk Dynamic — As of 11/11/26

Equities come to 71%, against about 11% in bonds and 10% in alternatives. Nvidia, the semiconductor fund and the Magnificent Seven fund take this morning's hit, and the anti-beta fund, long steady stocks and short volatile ones, is the offset built for exactly that.

THOR Conservative Risk Dynamic — As of 11/11/26

Stocks are 47%, alternatives 23%, and the rate hedge and cash split the other 30%. The chip and Magnificent Seven funds make up about a quarter of the total and will feel the Nvidia drop, while cash and the anti-beta fund sit beside them at 38%.

One Thing to Watch

The 30-year auction at 1 PM. A weak result that lifts long yields raises the cost of every plant and power line utilities have planned, and the sector would feel it before rate cases catch up. A clean auction leaves the long end near where it opened, and utilities keep earning on the load that's already plugged in.

Brad Roth / CIO, THOR Financial Technologies

This content reflects the opinions, analyses, and research of THOR Financial Technologies as of the date published. It is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice and should not be relied upon as the basis for any investment decision. Past performance doesn't guarantee future results, and all investments involve risk. For more information, please go to: thorft.com