Wall Street ends October with a sharp tech sell-off

US stocks tumbled on Friday 30 October, with the Nasdaq Composite suffering its largest one-day percentage drop since 5 June. The Nasdaq slid 2.86%, losing 747.73 points to close at 25,437.00, and has now fallen 7.8% from its all-time closing high reached on 6 October. The S&P 500 lost 1.82% to 7,580.07, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.09%, or 572.25 points, to 51,770.31.

All three main indexes closed lower on the week. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also recorded monthly losses in October, while the Dow ended the month higher. The S&P 500 technology sector posted its largest monthly percentage loss since March 2025.

Intel and Amazon results spark the rout

The sell-off was triggered by disappointing quarterly results from Intel and Amazon released late on Thursday, which sharpened doubts about whether huge spending on artificial intelligence will pay off quickly enough. Intel shares plunged 28.6% after a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter outlook, while chip stocks fell broadly: Nvidia dropped 4.2%, AMD slid 10.9%, and the broader chips index shed 7.2%, taking its monthly loss beyond 15%.

Investors are increasingly questioning the scale of AI investment, with Amazon guiding to about $220 billion of capital spending in 2026 and Alphabet guiding to $195 billion to $205 billion. As borrowing costs stay high, markets are asking how soon that spending turns into profit. The Nasdaq 100 has now fallen more than 10% from its 6 October peak, entering correction territory, and traders will watch next week's US midterm elections and economic data for the next steer.

Sources: SRN News (Reuters), Kitco News (Reuters). Second source: https://www.kitco.com/news/off-the-wire/2026-10-30/tech-giants-spending-spooks-investors-and-drives-bonds-rally