The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 297.99 points, midday Wednesday to 32,862.84.
The S&P 500 retreated 33.2 points to 3,794.91
The NASDAQ plunged 132.53 points, or 1.3%, to 10,453.67.
Shares of Facebook parent Meta Platforms rose 3% after the social media giant announced it will be laying off more than 11,000 workers. Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he was too optimistic about growth and now needs to streamline the company.
One stock that weighed on markets was Disney, which fell more than 11% after the entertainment giant missed estimates on the top and bottom lines for its fiscal fourth quarter.
Stocks are coming off three straight days of gains into the election, where Wall Street was expecting Republicans to gain ground and block any future tax and spending plans.
But control of Congress was not clear. Media reports were not yet projecting control of the House of Representatives with one estimate suggesting Republicans could win 220 seats, which would be a narrow majority.
In one of the key races that could determine Senate control, Democrat John Fetterman defeated Republican Mehmet Oz for the pivotal Senate seat in Pennsylvania, according to one projection. Oz had the backing of former President Donald Trump, whose endorsed candidates saw spotty levels of success across the country.
Critical Senate races in Georgia and Nevada were unresolved.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury made slight gains, lowering yields to 4.11% from Tuesday’s 4.14%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices drooped $2.07 to $86.84 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell 70 cents to $1,715,30 U.S. an ounce.