These stocks soared the most today after the Democrats trounced Trump

By Philip van Doorn

Chemical company Mosaic's stock is the strongest performer among the S&P 500, while several tech players and associated power providers show sharp declines

Investors gave a nod of approval, sending all the broad U.S. stock indexes up significantly after the Democratic Party won control of both houses of Congress.

(Updated with closing prices on Nov. 4.)

The broad stock indexes roared on Wednesday following an overwhelming set of election victories for the Democratic Party, which won majorities in both houses of Congress.

Given that affordability was a key issue for voters, some of the biggest beneficiaries of the election's results were shares of companies in the home-building, retail and healthcare industries.

Meanwhile, some of the biggest decliners were shares of companies that would be hurt by the Democrats' push to slow the build-out of artificial-intelligence infrastructure, such as data centers.

The S&P 500 SPX rose 1.6% on Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA soared 1,569 points, or 3%, to close at 53,356.12. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) rose 1.4%.

Live coverage:

-- Stock Market Today: Dow surges, heading for best day of 2026 as investors digest Democrats wave in midterms; Treasury yields and oil prices fall

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-- Micron and other chip stocks slip as election results strike at the core of data-center optimism

-- Home-builder stocks rally as election results lift hopes that affordability will be addressed

Here is how the 11 sectors of the S&P 500 performed on Wednesday:

 
Sector or Index           Price change on Nov. 4  2026 price change  2025 price change 
Consumer discretionary                      4.3%               3.8%               5.3% 
Financials                                  3.5%               7.9%              13.3% 
Real estate                                 3.2%              12.6%              -0.3% 
Materials                                   3.1%              17.9%               8.4% 
Healthcare                                  3.0%              22.4%              12.5% 
Communication services                      3.0%              -8.6%              32.4% 
Consumer staples                            2.9%              19.3%               1.3% 
Information technology                      0.5%              18.1%              23.3% 
Utilities                                   0.4%               2.1%              12.7% 
Industrials                                -1.1%               9.2%              17.7% 
Energy                                     -4.8%              42.0%               5.0% 
S&P 500                                     1.6%              12.3%              16.4% 
                                                                       Source: FactSet 

All but two of the sectors were up on Wednesday, with the industrial sector down 1.1% and energy taking a 4.8% hit.

The PHLX Semiconductor Index SOX declined 3.1%.

Another notable development was that the S&P 500 home-building industry group was up 7.3% for the session, according to FactSet.

Biggest post-election winners among the S&P 500

On Wednesday, 74% of stocks in the S&P 500 ended with gains, with 22% showing gains of 5% or more.

These were the 20 best performers for the session:

 
Company                       Price change on Nov. 4  2026 price change  2025 price change 
Mosaic                                         17.3%             -10.3%              -2.0% 
Block                                          15.4%              34.8%             -23.4% 
Stanley Black & Decker                         13.2%              59.5%              -7.5% 
Moderna                                        13.2%             776.5%             -29.1% 
Zimmer Biomet                                  13.0%              22.0%             -14.9% 
Centene                                        12.8%              85.0%             -32.1% 
CDW                                            12.8%              24.0%             -21.7% 
Universal Health Services                      10.9%              -9.9%              21.5% 
Jack Henry                                     10.7%              -1.9%               4.1% 
Expedia                                        10.6%              11.5%              52.0% 
AppLovin                                       10.4%             -59.8%             108.1% 
HCA Healthcare                                 10.3%               9.4%              55.5% 
Newmont                                        10.0%              18.4%             168.3% 
Booking Holdings                                9.9%             -20.1%               7.8% 
Dollar Tree                                     9.7%              19.5%              64.1% 
Stryker                                         9.6%              -3.2%              -2.4% 
3M                                              9.6%              21.2%              24.0% 
Intuitive Surgical                              9.4%             -14.8%               8.5% 
Align Technology                                9.0%               5.8%             -25.1% 
Carvana                                         8.9%              -8.0%             107.5% 
                                                                           Source: FactSet 

Mosaic (MOS) led the S&P 500 on Wednesday with a gain of 17.3%, after the supplier of phosphate and potash reported a third-quarter net loss of $72 million, compared with a net loss of $273 million in the second quarter and a profit of $411 million in the third quarter of 2025. Third-quarter net sales came in at $3.1 billion, compared with $2.8 billion the previous quarter and $3.5 billion in the year-earlier quarter.

Mosaic CEO Bruce Bodine said in the earnings release that the company "continued to advance opportunities to optimize the portfolio" amid supply challenges, for better positioning when industry conditions improve. The company also said it expected to reduce its capital expenditures to $1 billion in 2027 from an estimated total of $1.2 billion this year.

Block (XYZ) was next with a 15.4% gain, after the payment processor provided a preliminary 2027 outlook calling for a 5% increase in revenue and a 30% increase in earnings, matching the current full-year outlook for 2026.

Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) rose 13.2% after the company reported a vastly improved profit margin and an increase in third-quarter net earnings to $272.1 million from $51.4 million for the year-earlier quarter. The toolmaker also increased its guidance range for 2026 earnings per share to between $5.45 and $5.85 from its previous guidance of $4.60 to $5.45.

Click on the tickers for more about each company.

Wednesday's biggest losers

These 20 stocks among the S&P 500 showed the largest declines on Wednesday:

 
Company                                    Price change on Nov. 4  2026 price change  2025 price change 
Fidelity National Information Services                     -23.5%             -55.1%             -17.7% 
Trimble                                                    -17.4%             -30.8%              10.9% 
Comfort Systems USA                                        -15.3%              16.6%             120.1% 
Datadog                                                    -14.4%              38.9%              -4.8% 
NRG Energy                                                 -13.9%             -47.9%              76.5% 
Vistra                                                     -13.9%             -25.5%              17.0% 
Texas Pacific Land                                         -13.8%              -0.4%             -22.1% 
Vertiv                                                     -12.9%              26.9%              42.6% 
CVS Health                                                 -12.4%               0.9%              76.8% 
Flex                                                       -12.3%              27.9%              57.4% 
Quanta Services                                            -11.6%              37.6%              33.5% 
Eaton                                                      -10.0%              10.7%              -4.0% 
Emcor                                                       -9.7%               4.4%              34.8% 
Generac                                                     -9.7%              38.6%             -12.0% 
Ciena                                                       -9.4%              16.2%             175.8% 
GE Vernova                                                  -9.3%              27.4%              98.7% 
Dell Technologies                                           -8.9%             195.5%               9.2% 
Seagate Technology                                          -8.2%             102.2%             219.1% 
Marathon Petroleum                                          -8.1%             141.6%              16.6% 
Sandisk                                                     -7.9%             336.9%                N/A 
                                                                                        Source: FactSet 

Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) was the worst performer among the S&P 500 on Wednesday, with shares of the financial industry service provider falling 23.5%.

Early on Wednesday, the company lowered its outlook for sales and earnings for 2026 and initiated guidance for 2027 that disappointed investors. Oppenheimer analyst Rayna Kumar downgraded the stock to perform from outperform, writing in a note to clients that systems-conversion delays for new customers, as well as "bank consolidation, lower license and termination fees, and higher tax and interest expense," all weighed on Fidelity National's 2027 outlook.

Don't miss: Watch out for Big Tech companies like Meta and Alphabet issuing more shares and diluting your stock ownership

-Philip van Doorn

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11-04-26 1656ET