The stock market has had an unusually jumpy two weeks, and the election was only part of it.
On Nov. 4, the day after the vote, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1,569 points, or 3 percent, to 53,356, its best day since April 2025. A day later it gave nearly all of that back, falling about 1,670 points as investors sold technology and chip stocks.
This week the mood improved. On Wednesday, Nov. 11, the S&P 500 rose 1.3 percent to 7,619.38, leaving it within 2.6 percent of the record it set last month. The Dow added 255 points to close at 52,486.49. Through Wednesday the S&P 500 was up 3.3 percent for the week.
The rebound came from the same corner that led the sell-off. CoreWeave, which rents out computing power for artificial intelligence, reported stronger results than analysts expected, and chip stocks rallied with it.
Why it matters
Two things are driving the swings, and neither is settled. The first is whether the enormous spending on artificial intelligence will pay off. The second is inflation. Stocks slipped on Tuesday after a hotter-than-expected inflation report raised the chance that the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates again.
For anyone with a retirement account, the lesson of the past two weeks is a familiar one: the daily moves are loud, and the trend is quieter. The S&P 500 is still up about 11 percent this year.