US equity indexes slumped this week after a post-election rout in big tech as investors expect data centre buildout to slow after Democrats won both chambers of Congress in midterm elections.
* The S&P 500 closed at 7,376.86 on Friday, versus 7,580.07 a week ago. The Nasdaq Composite stood at about 24,579.43, compared with 25,437.00 a week earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 51,285.73, relative to 51,770.31 last week.
* Technology and energy were the worst-performing sectors as chipmakers and software infrastructure plays sank this week. Micron Technology (MU) was the steepest mega-cap decliner, down 22%.
* West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures traded at $90.84 late Friday, down from $102.95 a week ago.
* Oil has sunk recently, with weakness accelerating immediately following the elections on Tuesday, according to a Macquarie note. "The move appears to reflect the risk of a significant (and lasting) deterioration to Middle East flows is now being priced out."
* If stocks rallied on Wednesday due to lower oil prices and prospects of a US-Iran ceasefire, they dropped on Thursday amid a realization that growth might slow if Democrats' victories resulted in a mandated slowdown in data center construction, according to a separate Macquarie note.
* "That slowdown in data center construction would lead to a generalized slowdown in the US economy," Thierry Wizman, global foreign-exchange and rates strategist at Macquarie, said in the note. "After all, data center construction touches many sectors - raw materials, real estate, transportation, tech hardware and software, lending, etc., - leading to the logic of a broad sell-off and a generalized growth worry."
* October nonfarm payrolls rose by 165,000, above the 70,000 gain expected, while September payrolls were revised to a 60,000 jump and August payrolls were revised to a 186,000 gain, for a net upward revision of 84,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell 10 basis points to 4.1%, versus no change expected.
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