Key Highlights

● Democrats won both chambers in the November 3 midterms.

● The Nasdaq-100 plunged to 26,629.81 by Thursday.

● Data-center stocks bounced on November 9.

● President Trump called data centers gold in a Truth Social post.

The trouble began at the polls. Democrats won both the House and Senate in the November 3 midterm elections, according to news reports, and investors quickly worried about what that could mean for the data-center boom. Market data reported that some voters blame data centers for higher power bills, and reports noted that 40 of 41 data-center ballot measures went against the industry.

Wall Street reacted fast. "We think the initial reaction will be to sell AI names," An Evercore ISI analyst said on November 4, according to market coverage. By Thursday, the Nasdaq-100 had plunged to 26,629.81 and storage maker Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) had tumbled after incoming Democratic senators called for slowing AI data-center development, reports said.

The bounce

On Monday, November 9, 2026, the mood flipped. The S&P 500 jumped 173.08 points to 7,549.94, its best day since April 8, and the PHLX Semiconductor index rocketed to 10,033.93.

Data-center names were at the heart of it. CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV), which rents out AI computing power, climbed after dropping sharply the prior week, reports said. Nebius Group (NASDAQ:NBIS) surged Sterling Infrastructure (NASDAQ:STRL), a contractor that builds data-center sites, rocketed higher on what was described as a construction relief rally and lower energy costs, with no company-specific news. Seagate jumped back, and server maker Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) and networking specialist Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) climbed strongly as well.

Analysts and the White House weigh in

Several voices helped the turn. Deutsche Bank said the post-midterm sell-off in data-center landlords Digital Realty (NYSE:DLR) and Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) was overdone and rated both Buy, according to market reports. President Trump posted on Truth Social calling data centers "GOLD," according to market data.

A SlateStone Wealth strategist summed up a common view on the regulatory threat: "They can put regulation around it, but they're certainly not stopping it," he said. Falling oil helped as well. Brent Crude sank $5.75 to $92.57 on hopes of a US-Iran peace deal, easing fears about power and construction costs.

The case for caution

Relief rallies can fade. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both finished slightly below their Election Day closes, reports noted, even as the Dow climbed back above its own. A Capital.com analyst said "the rebound looks more like a tentative recovery in risk appetite than a convincing Reversal of the recent downtrend."

There is also a macro wrinkle. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said Monday that the AI data-center build-out is "starting to look like old fashioned Demand overheating," adding: "In the Fed world, the bigger the hype, the more nervous I am that we are going to overheat." Futures markets heavily favor a Federal Reserve rate hike in December, which could raise the cost of financing big construction projects.

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) slid amid an independent review by its board involving CEO Jensen Huang, a reminder that company-specific risks can cut across sector trends.

Policy Risk Lingers

This week's Earnings from CoreWeave and Nebius will offer a direct look at AI-cloud demand after the election. Applied Materials and Cisco also report, and Nvidia follows on November 17. Investors will be listening for any detail on how the new Congress plans to approach data-center permitting, power pricing and tech tax incentives. Tuesday's October Consumer Price Index could sway rate expectations and, with them, the financing math behind the build-out.