Chips lift the Nasdaq 0.8% on Election Day as AMD beats and job openings jump

Explain terms

What happened today

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% (27.52 points) to 7,568.92. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.8% to 25,372.01. The Dow fell 0.4% (197.26 points) to 51,786.72.

The gains were narrow: at one point in the afternoon, most stocks in the S&P 500 were down, with a handful of big chipmakers doing the lifting, per AP. AMD rose 3.7% ahead of its results (Yahoo Finance), while Broadcom gained more than 3% and Nvidia and Micron more than 2% each, per Anadolu Agency. Apple fell nearly 2% after Monday's warning on margins, and it weighed on the price-weighted Dow.

Correction (Nov 4, 1:05 PM CT): An earlier version said more S&P 500 stocks fell than rose "for much of the day." The AP report we cite supports that only at one point in the afternoon, and the sentence now says so.

Brent crude settled down 1.1% at $103.60 a barrel, its second straight drop, after rising above $107 overnight, per AP. WTI settled down 0.4% at $96.09. Spot gold fell 0.5% to $3,927.18 an ounce by 1:06 PM CT, and December gold futures settled 0.7% lower at $3,940.40, per Reuters.

The news, then the reaction

JOLTS job openings (September) — 9:00 AM CT

Before: Stocks opened mixed: in early trading the S&P 500 was up 0.2% and the Dow down 232 points as Apple fell, per AP.
The news: Job openings rose to 7.523 million from an upwardly revised 7.190 million in August, above the 7.10 million economists expected in a Reuters poll. It was the most since May. Layoffs fell to 1.641 million, the lowest since March 2025, and quits rose to 3.365 million. There were 1.06 openings for every unemployed person, up from 1.02.
After: Treasury yields rose and the 10-year moved toward 4.95%, which fits a stronger labor-demand reading. Our sources did not tie a specific NQ or ES futures move to the minute of the release, so we are not reporting one.

"For now, all signs point to a solid labor market." He expects the Fed to raise rates at its December and March meetings (Reuters).^{Matthew Martin, Oxford Economics}

Oil swings on mixed Iran signals — morning into the settle

Before: Brent rose above $107 overnight (AP), after a US official said the US struck Iran's Qeshm Island (Reuters).
The news: Oil fell to a three-week low as markets weighed peace efforts in Ukraine and Iran against the risk of supply disruptions, per Reuters. AP pointed to continued uncertainty about what will happen in the war with Iran.
After: Brent briefly fell below $101 before settling at $103.60, down 1.1%, per AP.

AMD earnings — after the close

Before: AMD closed up 3.7% at $483.90 in regular trading (Yahoo Finance).
The news: AMD reported third-quarter revenue of $13.38 billion, up 45%, and adjusted earnings of $2.09 a share, both above the $13.09 billion and $1.95 analysts expected, per Reuters. Data-center revenue was a record $8.55 billion, up 97%. AMD guided to about $17 billion in fourth-quarter revenue, plus or minus 3%, above the LSEG analyst average of $16.23 billion. Its expected gross margin of about 55% was a touch under estimates. CEO Lisa Su said, "Demand for our Instinct and EPYC products continued to strengthen" (Investing.com).
After: AMD shares rose more than 7% after hours, per Investing.com.

Why it moved

The Nasdaq 100 closed Monday in a correction, more than 10% below its record close (Reuters). Chips did the heavy lifting today. Chipmakers bounced, and because they carry big weights in the Nasdaq and the S&P 500, a few names were enough to lift both indexes even as most stocks fell. "Markets still assign premium valuations to companies that demonstrate strong demand, rising AI-related revenue" (Bloomberg).^{Brian Therien, Edward Jones}

Apple kept the Dow in the red. It fell even after beating forecasts, because it expects lower profit per dollar of sales this quarter as memory chips get more expensive amid AI data-center demand, per AP. Shopify sank after its quarterly revenue missed expectations for the first time in four years (Bloomberg).

For gold, a stronger dollar and rising Treasury yields did the damage (Reuters). "The dollar has been strengthening, and yields are going higher."^{Phillip Streible, Blue Line Futures} CME FedWatch showed a 79% probability of a Fed rate hike in December, per Reuters.

The midterms were in the background all day. Some on Wall Street worry a Democratic sweep of Congress could bring more AI regulation, though President Trump would keep his veto, and Wall Street generally prefers split control, AP reported. The S&P 500 has had a positive return in the six months after every midterm since 1970 (AP).^{Brock Weimer, Edward Jones} "A Democratic clean sweep could potentially put pressure on the US dollar," which could give gold some support (Reuters).^{Fawad Razaqzada, Forex.com}

Tonight

Election results come in through the evening and overnight, after the stock market's close. Any market reaction will show up first in NQ, ES and gold futures. We will report the reaction, not the politics.
Tokyo markets reopen after Tuesday's Culture Day holiday (JPX).

Tomorrow

Time CT	Event	Consensus
7:15 AM	ADP private payrolls (Oct)	+70K (prior +90K)
9:00 AM	ISM Services PMI (Oct)	54.7 (prior 54.9)
9:30 AM	EIA weekly crude inventories	not confirmed
Company times	Earnings: Arm, Qualcomm, Uber, McDonald's, Novo Nordisk	—

Consensus figures are from Yahoo Finance's week-ahead preview and may have moved since.

What we're watching

How futures react overnight as the election results come in.
Whether AMD's after-hours jump carries into the open and keeps the chip rebound going.
Whether December hike odds hold near 79% into ADP and ISM services, two days before Friday's jobs report.
Whether gold can hold above $3,900 with the dollar and yields rising.

The short version (the what and the result)

Chips led a narrow rally: the Nasdaq rose 0.8% and the S&P 500 0.4%, while Apple pulled the Dow down 0.4%.
Job openings jumped to 7.52 million, well above the 7.10 million expected, and layoffs fell to their lowest since March 2025.
Gold slipped about 0.5% to near $3,927 as the dollar and yields rose; Brent settled at $103.60.
AMD beat on revenue and earnings and guided above estimates; its shares rose more than 7% after hours.