Thursday, November 12, 2026

U.S. equities closed broadly lower on Thursday as an unexpectedly hot inflation print and a shock resignation in the tech sector rattled investor sentiment. The Nasdaq composite shed 0.39% to 25,366.094 after Nvidia's chief executive abruptly stepped down, while the Dow Jones and S&P 500 slipped 0.36% to 52,297.09 and 0.35% to 7,592.4, respectively. The small-cap Russell 2000 took the heaviest hit, tumbling 1.66% to 2,799.06 as October's 0.4% month-over-month CPI rise drove the 10-year Treasury yield to 5.05% and sent the VIX jumping 6.92% to 18.7.

Sectors in focus

• Energy surges: Drilling Oil & Gas Wells jumped 2.89% and Petroleum Refining added 1.35%. The rally tracked WTI Crude, which rose 2.52% to 88.71 after President Trump signaled a hardline stance against an Iran deal, citing U.S. energy independence.
• Tech rattled: Nvidia shares closed down 10% following the sudden resignation of CEO Jensen Huang over personal conduct and national security concerns, sparking a broad exit from the AI "halo trade."
• Industrials lag: Higher-for-longer rate expectations weighed heavily on capital-intensive sectors. Aircraft plunged 6.79%, while General Industrial Machinery shed 5.39%.
• Precious metals punished: Gold and Silver Ores tumbled 5.06% as physical Gold fell 2.96% to 3,882.1, pressured by a surging U.S. Dollar and hawkish Fed rate hike expectations for December.

On the radar

• Nov 13: U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) for October and the Baker Hughes Rig Count.
• Nov 16: Q3 Earnings from Xpeng (XPEV), Baidu (BIDU), and Tyson Foods (TSN).
• Nov 17: U.S. Retail Sales data for October.
• Nov 18: Retail bellwether Q3 earnings from Target (TGT) and Lowe's (LOW).