Technology stocks on Wall Street sold off sharply on Friday, with the Nasdaq falling 4% and moving to about 10% below its peak, within reach of a technical correction. The S&P 500 declined more than 2 percent in the same session.
Earnings and spending worries
The decline followed a string of earnings that fell short of expectations alongside rising investment spending by technology companies. Intel shares dropped after the company gave a weaker-than-expected financial outlook, a fall described as the sharpest in more than 40 years. Amazon.com shares fell 2 percent.
The Nasdaq has lost more than 1.2 trillion US dollars in market value during October. US technology companies are set to spend 750 billion US dollars on artificial intelligence this year, a level of outlay that has sharpened scrutiny of whether the spending will pay off. Growth in advertising, consumer services and retail, sectors that help support AI-related spending, has weakened, and some of those businesses are facing competitive pressure from AI technology itself.
Credit and security concerns add pressure
The Financial Times reported that Blackstone indicated Anthropic may not receive an investment-grade credit rating shortly after its initial public offering, adding to unease about the financing behind AI expansion. A disclosure of a record-size cyberattack on Binance revived concerns over the security of customer assets, and Bitcoin fell below 77 thousand US dollars.
Concerns that the United States could resume military strikes on Iran pushed oil prices higher and boosted demand for safe-haven assets. US Treasuries were heading for their strongest monthly performance since February 2025.
By our own measurement, the S&P 500 closed at 7,533.57 points on 30 October 2026, down 2.42 percent from the previous close and its lowest level in 31 days. The Nasdaq Composite closed the same session at 25,248.82 points, down 3.57 percent, also its lowest in 31 days.
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Data: S&P Dow Jones Indices · Nasdaq
