Wall Street suffered its fifth consecutive decline Wednesday, November 19, 2025, as Nvidia’s much-anticipated earnings report failed to provide the catalyst bulls hoped would end the technology sector’s brutal selloff. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.1% or 498.50 points to finish at 46,091.74 points, while the S&P 500 declined 0.8% or 55.09 points to end at 6,617.32 points, with tech and consumer discretionary stocks leading the market lower.
The S&P 500 posted a four-day losing streak Tuesday amid fears that artificial intelligence stocks are overvalued, a concern that Wednesday’s earnings from the semiconductor giant did nothing to alleviate despite the company exceeding Wall Street’s revenue and earnings expectations. Nvidia shares initially rallied in after-hours trading following the results but reversed sharply as investors focused on the company’s slowing revenue growth rate rather than the impressive absolute numbers.
A roughly $390 billion exchange-traded fund tracking the Nasdaq 100 advanced 1% after the close of regular trading Wednesday evening, suggesting that some investors viewed Nvidia’s forecast as strong enough to justify maintaining exposure to artificial intelligence names. The giant chipmaker that’s seen as a barometer for the revolutionary technology gave a strong revenue forecast for the current period, helping counter concern that a global surge in AI spending is poised to fizzle.
However, conservative investors should recognize that even strong earnings cannot sustainindefinitely prices that have disconnected from historical valuation norms. Investor sentiment was further dented after a disappointing earnings report from The Home Depot, Inc., with shares plummeting 6% after it missed on earnings and gave a weak forecast for full-year profit. The retailer reported third-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings of $3.74 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.81 per share.
The Home Depot’s disappointing results provided evidence that consumer spending remains under pressure as the government shutdown’s effects ripple through the economy even after operations resumed. Other major retailers like Walmart, Inc. and Target Corporation are scheduled to announce their quarterly results this week, creating additional potential catalysts for volatility if results reveal weakening demand heading into the crucial holiday shopping season.
Investors are also looking forward to the key September jobs report and the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s October FOMC meeting, scheduled for release this week. The delayed employment data could finally provide clarity about economic conditions during the government shutdown, though the permanent loss of October statistics means policymakers and investors will forever lack complete information about that crucial month.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday it will not release a full U.S. jobs report for the month of October following the longest government shutdown in the history of the country. Instead, establishment survey data from the Current Employment Statistics survey for October 2025 will be published with the November 2025 data, creating permanent blind spot in economic records that will complicate future analysis.
Federal Reserve officials were at odds during their October meeting over cutting interest rates, divided over whether a stalling labor market or stubborn inflation were bigger economic threats, minutes released Wednesday showed. While the Federal Open Market Committee approved a cut at the meeting, the path forward looks less certain with disagreements stretching into the outlook for December.
Disagreements stretched into the outlook for December, with officials expressing skepticism about the need for an additional cut that markets had been widely anticipating, with many saying that no more cuts are needed at least in 2025. The hawkish tone from Federal Reserve officials creates additional headwinds for technology stocks trading at valuations that assume continued monetary accommodation and low discount rates.
Several participants assessed that a further lowering of the target range for the federal funds rate could well be appropriate in December if the economy evolved about as they expected over the coming intermeeting period, suggesting the central bank remains data-dependent rather than committed to predetermined rate cut path. The conditional language provides ammunition for both bulls and bears, with optimists focusing on the potential December cut while pessimists emphasize officials’ skepticism.
Alphabet was among the winners of the day, rising about 3% and hitting a new all-time high, with shares rallying around optimism about its new generation of AI, Gemini 3, which it rolled out Tuesday. The Google parent’s strong performance demonstrates that investors remain willing to reward companies demonstrating concrete artificial intelligence progress, though the divergence between Alphabet’s gains and Nvidia’s weakness suggests rotation within technology rather than broad-based buying.
Fellow Magnificent Seven member Nvidia saw a boost of roughly 3% ahead of its third-quarter results scheduled for after the bell, with the advance evaporating once investors digested the full earnings report and recognized that even 80% year-over-year revenue growth no longer impresses when expectations have risen to stratospheric levels.
MP Materials rallied about 10% after it announced a partnership with the U.S. Defense Department and Saudi Arabia’s Maaden to develop a rare earth refinery, with Goldman Sachs also initiating the stock earlier in the day with a buy rating. The rare earths producer’s surge demonstrates that selective opportunities exist outside the crowded artificial intelligence trade, particularly in areas where Trump administration policies create tailwinds for domestic production.
The question facing investors as November’s third week concludes is whether Nvidia’s strong but unexciting earnings represent the high-water mark for artificial intelligence enthusiasm or merely temporary pause before renewed buying pushes the sector to new highs. Conservative strategists note that companies spending hundreds of billions on AI infrastructure must eventually demonstrate returns justifying these massive capital commitments, with patience among investors likely to erode if monetization continues lagging spending.
The five-day losing streak for the S&P 500 represents longest decline since the April tariff-induced selloff that briefly pushed the Nasdaq into bear market territory. The clustering of extended losing streaks suggests the market is experiencing serial corrections within technology sectors rather than healthy consolidation, creating vulnerability to more serious downturn if upcoming catalysts disappoint.
As markets prepare for Walmart and Target earnings this week alongside the delayed September jobs report, the convergence of key fundamental data releases with ongoing Federal Reserve uncertainty creates potential for either powerful recovery if results exceed expectations or accelerated decline extending the five-day losing streak into full-blown correction that strategists have been warning about for months.
