Last week delivered its biggest single-day sector selloff of the year, buried inside what should have been a bullish sequence. Apple beat estimates Monday. The midterms delivered a clear outcome Wednesday, sending the Dow up 1,500 points on the removal of uncertainty. Then Thursday erased the gains and took more with them, as the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 12.2%, its worst session since April 2025, on concerns that anti-data-center candidates winning in Texas and Georgia could restrict the AI infrastructure buildout. The October jobs report Friday came in at 165,000, more than double the 65,000 consensus, with September revised up to 60,000 from the initial 29,000 print. The number that should have driven the week's story barely moved markets by Friday afternoon. The S&P 500 fell 2.68% on the week to 7,376.86. The Nasdaq entered correction territory, more than 10% below its October 6 record close. This week: October CPI Tuesday, Cisco and Applied Materials earnings Thursday, October PPI Friday. Here is what to watch.
Market News, Week of November 9, 2026
The October jobs report was the strongest nonfarm payrolls number in over a year. The economy added 165,000 jobs against a 65,000 consensus. September was revised up to 60,000 from the initial 29,000 print, and August was revised up to 186,000 from 133,000, adding a combined 84,000 jobs to the prior two months. What looked like a deteriorating labor market in September was a single month of noise inside a resilient trend. Unemployment fell to 4.1% from 4.2%. Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% month-over-month and 3.1% year-over-year, both above the 0.3% and 2.9% estimates. Professional and business services added 70,000 jobs, the largest sector gain. December hike probability moved above 80% by Friday afternoon.
The midterm elections delivered Democrats a House majority of more than 250 seats and a 54-seat Senate majority. Markets initially sold off in overnight futures as results came in, then reversed. Wednesday's rally sent the Dow up approximately 1,500 points on the removal of election uncertainty and expectations of more stable tariff and trade policy. That rally lasted less than 24 hours. On Thursday, markets absorbed the detail that anti-data-center candidates had won seats in Texas and Georgia on platforms that included moratoriums on new data center construction, alongside local ballot measures in 10 states addressing data center restrictions in various forms. UBS estimated approximately 30% of the data center capacity expected to come online in 2028 is now at risk from the combined regulatory and political headwinds. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 12.2%. Nvidia fell 9.3%. Micron fell 17%. The Nasdaq entered correction territory, more than 10% below its October 6 record.
Apple was the week's cleanest result. Fiscal Q4 2026 revenue came in at $114.5 billion, up 12% year-over-year, against guidance of $111.7-$113.7 billion. Diluted EPS was $2.10 against a $1.99 consensus, a beat of $0.11. Services revenue hit an all-time high of $31.6 billion, up 9.8% year-over-year. iPhone revenue reached a September-quarter record of $57.6 billion, growing 17.5% year-over-year. Mac revenue grew 23.7% to $10.8 billion. Full-year FY2026 revenue was a record $478.8 billion, up 15.1%. This was the first full quarter under CEO John Ternus following Tim Cook's September 1 transition. Apple's report was overshadowed by the Thursday semiconductor selloff but confirmed the consumer tech cycle is holding under the rate environment.
The week's sequence, Apple beats, midterms clear, Wednesday rally, Thursday AI crash, Friday jobs beat, produced a net decline because Thursday's selling overwhelmed every other event. The equal-weighted S&P 500 held better than the cap-weighted index, as semiconductor concentration in the Nasdaq drove the index-level decline more than the broader market. The October jobs report, which in any other week would have been the defining market event, became a Friday footnote to a week defined by a one-day 12.2% drop in the semiconductor complex. The question entering this week: is the data center restriction narrative a one-day positioning event or a multi-week fundamental repricing? October CPI Tuesday and Applied Materials Thursday are the two tests.
Economic Calendar, Week of November 9, 2026
Monday, November 9: NY Fed Survey of Consumer Expectations (11:00am ET, impact: Medium). The first consumer inflation expectations read after the October CPI preview period. The September survey showed 1-year inflation expectations at 3.0% and 3-year at 2.5%. A rise in 1-year expectations Monday would pre-signal a hot CPI Tuesday and compound the December hike narrative heading into the week's most important release. No major earnings Monday.
Tuesday, November 10: October CPI (8:30am ET, impact: Very High). CoreWeave earnings after the close. October CPI is the week's most market-moving release. Headline consensus is approximately 0.3% month-over-month. Core CPI consensus is approximately 0.2% month-over-month. After 165,000 jobs with wages at 0.4%, the Fed needs inflation data that holds rather than reaccelerates to justify any December hold. The Cleveland Fed nowcast projected headline CPI at 0.24% month-over-month and core at 0.21%, slightly below consensus. CoreWeave's earnings after the close add a direct AI infrastructure revenue read to what will already be a data-heavy day, a first check on whether enterprise AI demand is softening in response to the data center restriction concerns.
Wednesday, November 11: Veterans Day. Bond markets closed, equity markets open. Honda Motor earnings. A light data day that serves as a breather between Tuesday's CPI and Thursday's earnings double-header. Watch overnight futures for any residual CPI reaction.
Thursday, November 12: Initial Jobless Claims for the week ended November 7 (8:30am ET, impact: Medium). Cisco reports Q1 FY2027 earnings after the close. Applied Materials reports Q4 FY2026 earnings after the close. Claims are the first weekly labor data point post-165K and confirm whether the jobs recovery is broadening into November. Cisco guided Q1 FY2027 to $18.0-$18.2 billion revenue and $1.32-$1.34 EPS, with FY2027 AI-infrastructure revenue targeted at approximately $7.5 billion. Applied Materials guided Q1 FY2027 revenue above $7.65 billion. Both companies sit at the intersection of AI infrastructure spending, the most contested narrative entering the week. Cisco's enterprise networking orders and Applied Materials' semiconductor equipment bookings are the two most direct reads available on whether Thursday's data center restriction selloff reflected real demand risk or positioning fear.
Friday, November 13: October PPI (8:30am ET, impact: High). Producer price index completes the inflation picture that CPI started Tuesday. PPI leads CPI by one to two months on some service categories. A PPI print that reaccelerates after a tame CPI would signal that Tuesday's inflation relief, if it arrives, may be temporary. Watch core PPI services ex-trade, which the Fed tracks as a leading signal for core PCE ahead of the December 9 meeting.
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