The Nasdaq 100 Lost $2.5 Trillion. Staples and Utilities Barely Moved

Brad Roth
November 06, 2026

TL;DR

• The Nasdaq 100 fell 6.36% Thursday and lost $2.5 trillion in value, per Reuters, on fears a Democratic Congress slows the data-center buildout. The Nasdaq Composite is now in a correction.

• All seven sectors in the even-weight strategy fell less than the S&P 500's 4.36%. Utilities lost 0.71% and consumer staples 0.75%.

• October jobs land at 8:30, with 65,000 expected. Fed funds futures put a December hike near 70%.

Market Pulse

Futures as of 7:17 AM ET, commodities as of 7:25 AM ET, yields as of 7:29 AM ET, currencies as of 7:28 AM ET

• S&P 500 futures are up 0.20% at 7,397.75.

• Nasdaq 100 futures are up 1.32% at 27,104.75.

• Dow futures are down 0.96% at 51,118.00.

• Russell 2000 futures are up 0.15% at 2,739.50.

Thursday was the Nasdaq's worst day since April 2025. The S&P 500 fell 4.36% to 7,353.73, the Dow 3.44% to 51,523.06 and the Nasdaq 100 6.36% to 26,629.81. All eleven sectors lost ground. Technology fell 8.00% and industrials 4.12%. Communication services held up best at 0.59%, then utilities at 0.71% and staples at 0.75%.

• West Texas is $90.59, up 0.08%. Brent is $98.23, down 0.06%.

• Gold is $4,078.97, down 0.84%. Silver is down 0.38% at $52.18.

• The three-month bill yields 4.090%. The two-year is 4.489%, up 1.2 basis points, and the ten-year 4.864%, up 3.4.

• Euro/dollar is 1.1173. The dollar buys 158.33 yen. The VIX is 26.75, down 4.97%. Bitcoin is near $76,330.

• South Korea's Kospi fell 6.02% overnight and Taiwan 4.51%. Nvidia is up 3.73% before the open and Micron 8.43%.

• October jobs hit at 8:30, with 65,000 expected and unemployment at 4.2%. Michigan sentiment follows at 10:00.

THOR Risk Gauge

Cautious, down from yesterday. The VIX closed at 28.18, and the Nasdaq Composite is in a correction. The S&P 500 closed just over its 200-day average, and the two-year yield fell about 12 basis points Thursday. The index strategy is 99.4% in stocks and the even-weight strategy 97.6%.

The THOR View

All seven sectors in the even-weight strategy fell less than the S&P 500 Thursday. The range ran from utilities at 0.71% to consumer discretionary at 3.83%, against 4.36% for the index. No sector tops 14.2%, so no one group set the result. The system doesn't call elections. It owns trends that have confirmed, and technology, down 8.00%, isn't one of them.

The selling was about data centers. Democrats won in key data-center states, and investors fear tighter AI rules and local fights over permits, per Reuters. UBS estimates about 30% of the capacity additions expected in 2028 could be at risk. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 12.25%, Nvidia 9.26% and AMD 17.26%. Jefferies calls the move reactionary, with no change to the fundamentals.

Consumer staples and utilities are 28.1% of the strategy together, and they were the calm corner. Costco rose 1.83%. Procter & Gamble lost 0.13% and Coca-Cola 0.07%. Nobody cancels toothpaste over a data-center bill. Utilities split along the same line. Constellation Energy, tied to AI power demand, fell 2.47%. Duke Energy rose 0.38% and Southern 0.24%. Over the last five sessions staples are up 3.48%, and the S&P 500 is down 4.73%.

Real estate got help from bonds. The two-year fell about 12 basis points Thursday and the ten-year about 6. The sector is 13.9% of the strategy, lost 1.82% and is up 2.88% over five sessions. Six of the seven sectors are up over that stretch, and materials is down 0.38%.

The index strategy runs 50.3% Dow and 49.1% S&P 500. The Dow's 3.44% drop beat the Nasdaq 100 by 2.9 points, even with Goldman Sachs and Caterpillar each down about 6.4%. Both have real pull in a price-weighted index. This morning Dow futures are down 0.96% and S&P 500 futures are up 0.20%... two near-equal pieces, so neither one decides the day.

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Signal Watch

THOR Index Rotation — As of 11/5/26

Two indexes at about half each, and fully invested. The Dow grew to 50.3% from 50.1% because it fell less than the S&P 500.

THOR Low Volatility — As of 11/5/26

Seven sectors within 0.6 points of each other. Utilities and staples moved up the table Thursday, and consumer discretionary slipped to the smallest piece.

THOR AdaptiveRisk Dynamic — As of 11/5/26

The mix runs 70.4% equity, 10.8% fixed income, 10.6% alternatives, 5.4% commodity and 2.8% specialty currency. The anti-beta fund moved to the top at 9.6% from 9.0%. It's built to favor low-risk stocks over high-risk ones.

One Thing to Watch

October jobs at 8:30. Fed funds futures price a December hike near 70%, even after Thursday. A soft number eases that bet and helps real estate, 13.9% of the even-weight strategy.

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