Nvidia, Chip Stocks Lift S&P 500 and Nasdaq at Midday on Election Day as Dow Slips; Job Openings Jump

Chipmakers led a rebound in technology shares on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, lifting the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite at midday while the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded lower, as Americans voted in the midterm elections and investors weighed a stronger-than-expected report on U.S. job openings.

As of 11 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 was up 0.6%, the Nasdaq was 1.1% higher and the Dow was down 87 points, or 0.2%, the Associated Press reported. The AP noted that more stocks within the S&P 500 were falling than rising despite the index's gain. The Dow's losses widened again shortly after noon: Yahoo Finance data showed the blue-chip index at 51,738.55 as of 12:08 p.m. ET, down 245.43 points, or 0.47%.

On Monday, the S&P 500 closed down 0.51% at 7,541.40 and the Nasdaq fell 1.07% to 25,164.36, while the Dow gained 0.41% to 51,983.98. According to Reuters, the Nasdaq-100 finished Monday more than 10% below its all-time closing high, meeting the common definition of a correction.

Chip stocks rebound, Apple lags

Nvidia rose 2.9% and was the single largest contributor to the S&P 500's advance, according to the AP. Broadcom gained 3.8%, Advanced Micro Devices climbed 5.5% and Micron Technology added 3%. Reuters reported earlier in the session that Nvidia had fallen for four straight sessions before Tuesday and that the Philadelphia semiconductor index was up 2.7%. AMD is scheduled to report quarterly results after the closing bell, which Yahoo Finance described as the next test of demand for artificial intelligence hardware.

Apple was the main drag among the largest companies, falling 2.7% after the iPhone maker said rising memory chip costs would weigh on its gross margin in the holiday quarter, even though its latest quarterly revenue and profit beat analyst estimates. Palantir Technologies was down 1.5% in the AP's 11 a.m. update after its results topped expectations; the company said U.S. commercial revenue grew 148% from a year earlier and surpassed its U.S. government revenue for the first time.

Software stocks and other movers

Several software and data companies fell sharply after reporting earnings. In Reuters reporting published shortly before 10 a.m. ET, Gartner was down 17.2%, and U.S.-listed shares of Thomson Reuters and Shopify had each dropped about 10%. Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading lower at that point, with consumer staples and materials the weakest groups.

Among the gainers, life sciences company Revvity jumped 12% after topping analyst forecasts and raising its full-year adjusted earnings outlook, the AP said. Chemical makers DuPont and Celanese rose 6.9% and 3.7%, respectively, after their results. Pfizer traded little changed after reporting adjusted third-quarter earnings of 87 cents per share on revenue of $16.58 billion, above analyst estimates of 73 cents and $15.87 billion, according to CNBC.

Job openings beat forecasts

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey that employers had about 7.5 million job openings at the end of September, with the openings rate at 4.5%. CNBC reported that openings totaled 7.52 million, an increase of 333,000 from August and above the 7.15 million economists had expected. Hires were about 5.4 million, quits rose to roughly 3.4 million, and layoffs and discharges were about 1.6 million. The BLS also revised August openings up by 111,000 to 7.2 million.

The AP said the report helped push the 10-year Treasury yield to 4.93% from 4.91% late Monday. Separately, September factory orders rose 1.8%, above a 1.3% estimate, CNBC reported. The Labor Department's October employment report is due Friday.

Election and oil backdrop

Polls and nonpartisan analysts favor Democrats to win control of the House of Representatives, while control of the Senate remains uncertain, according to Reuters. The AP cited Edward Jones analyst Brock Weimer, who said the S&P 500 has posted a positive return in the six months after every midterm election since 1970.

Oil prices swung during the session. Brent crude rose above $107 a barrel overnight, briefly fell below $101 in the morning and was most recently down 1.6% at $103.13, the AP said, as traders followed U.S.-Iran diplomacy after U.S. strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island. Overseas, South Korea's Kospi fell 3.6% after declines in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, while Australian stocks rose 0.3% after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised its cash rate.

At its Oct. 27-28 meeting, the Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate in a range of 3.75% to 4%. Its next policy meeting is scheduled for Dec. 8-9.

Sources: Associated Press, Nov. 3, 2026; Reuters via StreetInsider, Nov. 3, 2026; CNBC, Nov. 3, 2026; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics JOLTS release, Nov. 3, 2026; Yahoo Finance, Nov. 3, 2026.