Stanley Black & Decker'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.
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 buildout of artificial-intelligence infrastructure, like data centers.
The S&P 500 SPX was up 1.8% as of noon Eastern, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA soared 1,474 points, or 2.85%, to 53,260.80. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) was up 1.9%.
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Here is where the 11 sectors of the S&P 500 stood at noon Eastern:
Healthcare Price change on Nov. 4 2026 price change 2025 price change
Consumer discretionary 4.5% 4.0% 5.3%
Communication services 3.7% -7.9% 32.4%
Consumer staples 3.4% 19.8% 1.3%
Materials 2.9% 17.7% 8.4%
Financials 2.8% 7.3% 13.3%
Real estate 2.6% 12.0% -0.3%
Healthcare 2.4% 21.7% 12.5%
Information technology 1.4% 19.1% 23.3%
Utilities 0.2% 1.8% 12.7%
Industrials -1.1% 9.3% 17.7%
Energy -5.4% 41.0% 5.0%
S&P 500 1.8% 12.6% 16.4%
Source: FactSet
All but two of the sectors were up in midday trading, with the industrial sector down 1.1% and energy taking a 5.4% hit.
The PHLX Semiconductor Index SOX was down 2.8%.
Another notable development was that the S&P 500 home-building industry group was up 8% for the session, according to FactSet. And that ties into the best-performing stock among the S&P 500 on Wednesday.
Biggest post-election winners among the S&P 500
In midday trading, 74% of stocks in the S&P 500 were up for the day, with 22% showing gains of 5% or more.
Here are the best 20 performers as of noon Eastern:
Company Price change on Nov. 4 2026 price change 2025 price change Stanley Black & Decker 16.7% 64% -7% Block 15.7% 35% -23% Zimmer Biomet 15.1% 24% -15% Expedia Group 13.6% 15% 52% Booking Holdings 11.6% -19% 8% CDW 10.8% 22% -22% AppLovin 10.7% -60% 108% Dollar Tree 10.1% 20% 64% First Solar 10.0% -22% 48% HCA Healthcare 9.8% 9% 56% Moderna 9.5% 749% -29% Intuitive Surgical 9.3% -15% 9% Universal Health Services 9.2% -11% 22% Carvana 9.2% -8% 108% Mosaic 9.1% -17% -2% 3M 9.1% 21% 24% Jack Henry 9.0% -3% 4% Newmont 8.5% 17% 168% SBA Communications 8.4% 3% -5% Lennar 8.3% -9% -22% Source: FactSet
Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) topped the winners list 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 midday declines on Wednesday:
Company Price change on Nov. 4 2026 price change 2025 price change
Fidelity National Information Services -23.7% -55% -18%
Trimble -17.7% -31% 11%
Comfort Systems USA -16.2% 15% 120%
Datadog -13.4% 40% -5%
Quanta Services -12.7% 36% 34%
Vistra Corp. -12.7% -24% 17%
CVS Health -12.3% 1% 77%
NRG Energy -12.2% -47% 77%
Flex -12.2% 28% 57%
Vertiv -11.6% 29% 43%
Texas Pacific Land -11.3% 2% -22%
Marathon Petroleum -10.2% 136% 17%
Generac -10.1% 38% -12%
GE Vernova -10.1% 26% 99%
Emcor -10.0% 4% 35%
Lumentum Holdings -9.8% 66% 339%
Eaton -8.6% 12% -4%
Valero Energy -8.5% 118% 33%
Dell Technologies -8.2% 198% 9%
APA -7.9% 80% 6%
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 nearly 24%.
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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