AFTER THE CLOSE · November 4, 2026
Closing market recap : Nov 4, 2026
The market closed strong, led by big tech, healthcare, and consumer names even as energy slid with oil. The next test is how upcoming economic reports and earnings shape expectations for the economy and borrowing costs in the days ahead.
Market overview
Stocks finished higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 up around 2% and the Nasdaq-100 up about 1%. Bigger gains in large technology, healthcare, and consumer companies helped pull most stocks higher into the close.
Sector and industry performance
Consumer, healthcare, real estate, and financial stocks led the market, with nearly all names in those groups rising. Energy shares fell hard as oil prices slumped roughly 8%, and parts of industrials and hardware-focused technology lagged.
Sector and industry performance
Healthcare stocks kept rebounding, with companies like Moderna, Zimmer Biomet, Centene, and Universal Health up roughly 11–17%. Commentators linked some of this strength to the recent US midterm results and hopes for a friendlier policy backdrop.
Stock movers and news
Big tech was mixed: Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon gained about 5–7%, while Nvidia and Micron slipped. Block and CDW jumped more than 12% after upbeat views on their businesses, but Datadog and Trimble sank over 14% following their latest results and commentary.
Reported earnings
After the close, Arm, McKesson, AppLovin, Motorola Solutions, and Allstate all reported results that beat profit forecasts, while MercadoLibre missed its estimate. Qualcomm also slightly beat, but its stock traded around 6% lower after hours, showing that expectations were high.
Upcoming earnings
Tomorrow and Friday bring results from Toyota, ConocoPhillips, Sony, Cloudflare, Parker-Hannifin, Canadian Natural Resources, and Southern Company. These reports will update investors on autos, oil producers, industrial demand, and cloud software growth.
Economic events
Today’s services-activity survey was released, and attention now shifts to Thursday’s jobless claims plus Friday’s jobs report and consumer sentiment update. These numbers could influence views on growth and interest rates, especially for rate-sensitive and growth-oriented stocks.
What to watch next
The market closed strong, led by big tech, healthcare, and consumer names even as energy slid with oil. The next test is how upcoming economic reports and earnings shape expectations for the economy and borrowing costs in the days ahead.