31st October 2026 – (New York) The Nasdaq Composite tumbled 2.86 per cent on Friday to close at 25,437.00, its worst single‑day drop since June, as selling in major technology names accelerated into the month‑end. The S&P 500 fell 1.82 per cent to 7,580.07, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 572.25 points, or 1.09 per cent, to finish at 51,770.31, with defensive sectors helping to limit losses on the blue‑chip index.
Trading turned more disorderly in the afternoon as investors trimmed positions ahead of next week’s midterm elections and digested a mixed batch of technology earnings. Amazon dropped more than 1 per cent after third‑quarter revenue and earnings missed expectations and the company reported negative free cash flow of $42.4 billion, while keeping its 2026 capital expenditure guidance at $220 billion. Intel sank almost 29 per cent after issuing a weak outlook linked to softer personal‑computer demand, with revenue in its client computing and physical artificial intelligence group down 5 per cent year‑on‑year to $8.1 billion.
Chipmakers were broadly weaker. Advanced Micro Devices fell close to 11 per cent, with Nvidia and Broadcom down around 4 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively. Sandisk slid 13 per cent despite beating fiscal first‑quarter estimates, as the company unveiled an eight‑for‑one forward stock split. The move away from higher‑beta growth names contrasted with gains in perceived havens: Walmart and Coca‑Cola each rose more than 1 per cent, while Merck and Amgen also advanced.
Sentiment was further pressured by a report that Blackstone had told investors Anthropic may not secure an investment‑grade rating at debut, blunting some of the optimism that followed the AI firm’s S‑1 filing earlier in the week. The previous session had already rattled the market after Alphabet posted its worst day on record on a miss for third‑quarter earnings and revenue and negative free cash flow of $9.07 billion, dragging the Nasdaq lower.
October proved volatile for the artificial intelligence trade, with investors scrutinising capital spending plans across the sector. Hyperscalers Alphabet and Microsoft did not lift capex forecasts, while heavily levered “neocloud” operators faced mounting questions over debt loads. CoreWeave’s shares slumped 37 per cent in October and Nebius nearly 35 per cent as funding costs rose. The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM), which holds AI‑linked memory names including Micron and Seagate Technology, fell 20 per cent in the month, and the iShares A.I. Innovation and Tech Active ETF (BAI) declined nearly 17 per cent.
For the month, the Nasdaq dropped 5.3 per cent, its steepest decline since March 2025. The S&P 500 slipped 0.9 per cent, while the Dow gained 1.7 per cent.
