Wall Street opened the week with a split screen. The Dow rose to 51,983.98 while the Nasdaq fell 1.1%, and oil prices dropped sharply on hopes of U.S.-Iran peace talks. The stock market today is a story of rotation: money moved out of tech and into other sectors just as investors brace for midterm elections and a jobs report this week.
Stock Market Today: How the Indexes Closed on Monday
Based on Associated Press market data for Monday, November 2:
- S&P 500: down 38.67 points (0.5%) to 7,541.40, after being up as much as 1.1% earlier in the day
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: up 213.67 points (0.4%) to 51,983.98
- Nasdaq Composite: down 272.68 points (1.1%) to 25,164.32
- Russell 2000: down 5.97 points (0.2%) to 2,805.88
Despite the dip, the S&P 500 is up about 10.2% for the year, and the Dow is up about 8.2%.
Why Tech Stocks Are Under Pressure
Tech and AI stocks are still shaky after last week’s sell-off. On Friday, October 30, the Nasdaq fell about 2.9%, its worst day in nearly five months, according to a Zacks market recap. October as a whole was rough for the index, which lost about 5.3%, its worst month since March 2025. Intel plunged roughly 28.6% on a weak forecast, and Nvidia, AMD and Amazon also slid on Friday.
On Monday, Nvidia flipped from a gain to a loss and dragged on the S&P 500, even though most individual stocks in the index rose. That points to a market where leadership is narrowing, not one where everything is falling.
Oil Plunges on U.S.-Iran Peace Hopes
The biggest mover was crude. Brent fell about 7.6% to roughly $104.77 a barrel in a day driven by hopes of peace talks. Reports said Secretary of State Rubio indicated Washington would prefer a “peaceful” resolution, and later reports said Iran’s supreme leader had given the government some authority to hold talks. Lower oil can ease inflation worries for consumers and help sectors that depend on fuel costs.
Rotation: Where the Money Went
Investors rotated into consumer discretionary, financials and industrials. Home Depot rose about 3.3% and Sherwin-Williams about 5.6%, both helping the Dow. Data also gave a mixed economic picture: the ISM manufacturing index rose to 55.5 in October, beating the 54.5 analysts expected, while September construction spending fell 1.9%, when analysts had expected a small gain.
Deals and Big Movers
- Marvell and Lumentum: Marvell agreed to buy Lumentum in a deal worth about $115 billion including debt. Lumentum fell about 18.6% on the day and Marvell about 12.7%.
- Oracle: shares fell on plans to sell $10 billion of stock and $10 billion of bonds.
- IDEXX: jumped about 21.9% after raising its 2026 outlook.
- After the bell: Apple reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue up 12% to $114.5 billion but gave a weaker margin outlook, and Palantir reported revenue up 96% to $2.313 billion.
What Investors Are Watching This Week
- Midterm election results (Tuesday): markets often react to the balance of power in Washington. See our midterm election explainer.
- Apple and Palantir reactions (Tuesday): after-hours moves set the tone for tech.
- Jobs report (Friday, November 6, 8:30 a.m. ET): a key read on the labor market.
- Oil and Iran headlines: any talks progress, or setbacks, could swing energy and inflation expectations.
What It Means for Everyday Investors
Short-term swings like these are normal, and most financial planners emphasize diversification and a long time horizon over reacting to one day’s headlines. If a big share of your portfolio sits in a few tech names, this week is a good prompt to review your allocation.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Sources: Associated Press via KRMG; CNBC and StockTitan market blog; Zacks via Yahoo Finance. Figures are from the November 2, 2026 session.
