Donald Trump: the stock market had "one of the worst days in history" on 5 November 2026
Donald Trump· claimed on Nov 5, 2026
On 5 November 2026, two days after the midterm elections in which Democrats won control of Congress, Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that the stock market "suffered one of the Worst Days in History based on the results of the Election." That day the S&P 500 closed at 7,353.73, down 334.89 points (−4.36%); the Nasdaq Composite fell about 5.5% and the Dow about 3.4%. Whether the day ranks among the worst depends on the yardstick: in index points it is a record, in percentage terms it is far from the historic falls. The historical tables of daily S&P 500 and Dow changes settle the question for each yardstick.
In index points, 5 November 2026 is the largest daily loss the S&P 500 has ever recorded
The table of largest daily point losses puts 5 November 2026 (close 7,353.73, −334.89 points) at number one, ahead of 16 March 2020 (−324.89) and 4 April 2025 (−322.44). Its intraday swing of 330.94 points is the fourth largest since 1967. It is also the biggest percentage fall of 2026 so far.
A broad sell-off: the worst S&P 500 session since April 2025, Nasdaq in correction
CNBC's live coverage of the 5 November session describes a broad, AI-led sell-off that pushed the Nasdaq into correction territory; the S&P 500's fall was its steepest since the April 2025 tariff turmoil.
A former stockbroker compares the day with Black Monday 1987
Writing for Money Talks News, a broker who worked through Black Monday argues the comparison fails: on 19 October 1987 the Dow lost 22.6% in one session, several times the roughly 3.4% Dow fall of 5 November 2026.
In percentage terms, −4.36% does not make the top 20 worst S&P 500 days
Steps: take the table of largest daily percentage losses in the same Wikipedia list (permanent version linked). The record is −20.47% on 19 October 1987; 16 March 2020 was −11.98%; the 20th place is −7.47% (14 May 1940). The 5 November 2026 fall of −4.36% is well below that cut-off and smaller even than 4 April 2025 (−5.97%) and 3 April 2025 (−4.84%). Point records grow naturally when the index is near all-time highs, so the day is among the worst only if counted in points, not in percent.
