Wall Street's Record Post-Election Rally Hits a Morning Speed Bump as Data-Center Stocks Keep Sliding
A day after the Dow's best session since April on a decisive Democratic sweep, futures turned mixed Thursday as traders took profits in the AI-infrastructure names that powered the surge.
Wall Street woke up Thursday trying to figure out how much of Wednesday's historic rally it actually believes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1,569.40 points, or roughly 3%, to close at 53,356.12 — its best single-day gain since April 2025 and its first finish above 53,000 since early September, according to CNBC's live markets coverage. The S&P 500 climbed 1.58% to 7,688.62 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.44% to 25,736.51.
The move was driven by relief rather than new economic data: a decisive Democratic sweep in Tuesday's midterms removed weeks of uncertainty over divided-government gridlock, and a steep drop in oil prices eased inflation worries heading into the holidays. Business Standard reported that the broad rally came even as data-center and defense stocks bucked the trend, falling on investor concern that a Democratic-controlled Congress could tighten the regulatory runway for AI infrastructure buildouts and defense spending alike.
Futures turn cautious
That split carried into Thursday morning. Dow futures ticked up about 0.2% to roughly 53,623, suggesting traders were willing to extend the broader rally, but Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.3% to about 28,183.75 as the same data-center names that lagged Wednesday kept retreating, according to CoinCentral's futures tracking.
THE DOW'S BIGGEST SINGLE-DAY POINT GAIN SINCE APRIL 2025
The pullback in AI-adjacent names is notable given how much of this year's market gains have rested on a handful of chip and infrastructure stocks. Wednesday's session itself followed a blowout earnings report from AMD that had already powered a multi-day rally, meaning Thursday's profit-taking in the same corner of the market reads to traders less like a reversal of sentiment and more like consolidation after two unusually strong days in a row.
Treasury yields and the dollar were little changed in early trading, and no major economic data releases were scheduled before the opening bell. Investors are now watching how durable the post-election relief rally proves to be once the market has had a full week to digest both the political outcome and corporate earnings that have continued to roll in from across the S&P 500.