Election Day Close: Chipmakers Lift the Nasdaq While the Dow Slips

Wall Street held steady on Election Day, but only because of a handful of big names.

The S&P 500 rose 27.52 points, or 0.4%, to 7,568.92. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 197.26 points, or 0.4%, to 51,786.72, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 207.65 points, or 0.8%, to 25,372.01 ^[1].

Chip stocks did the lifting. Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom each gained more than 2% ^[2]. Underneath, the market was weak: decliners beat advancers 318 to 167 in the S&P 500, and only nine of the Dow's 30 stocks finished higher ^[2].

Apple fell 1.9% after its quarterly results disappointed on key numbers, including China revenue ^[3]. Reuters noted the S&P 500 sat about 3% below its Oct. 6 record close and was still up more than 10% for 2026 ^[4].

The economy sent stronger signals. September factory orders rose 1.8%, beating forecasts of 1.1% ^[5], and job openings also topped expectations. That pushed the 10-year Treasury yield up 3.1 basis points to 4.944% ^[3].

At the bell, traders were waiting on one thing: who would control Congress.