US stocks fell sharply on Friday, the last trading day of October. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.86% to 25,437.00. It was the index’s biggest one-day decline since June.
The S&P 500 lost 1.82% to close at 7,580.07. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1.09%, or 572 points, to 51,770.31.
Stocks fell for a second day in a row. Investors reacted to weak earnings from some of the largest tech companies.
Tech Earnings Drive the Sell-Off
Amazon (AMZN) and Alphabet (GOOGL) reported rare earnings misses this week. The reports renewed worries about how much Big Tech is spending on artificial intelligence.
Alphabet shares kept falling after the stock had its worst day in more than 20 years. Amazon shares dropped 2% on Friday.
Intel (INTC) fell 28.58% to $65.76 after its fourth-quarter outlook came up short. The stock had been down 29% in premarket trading.
ServiceNow (NOW) also lost ground, falling 4.15% to $105.12. The information technology sector led the decline in the S&P 500.
Mark Hackett is chief market strategist at Nationwide’s Investment Management Group. He said it is not clear if the slide marks a change in the AI trade or a short-lived drop.
“Next week, particularly after the midterms, will be the test if this is a momentary blip or something more enduring,” he said. Data centers have been a hot topic in the midterm elections.
Oil, Energy and Crypto
Oil prices rose, adding pressure to markets. Brent crude futures reached $112 per barrel, while WTI crude hit $104.
ExxonMobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) briefly touched record highs. The companies said refining margins widened because of the war in the Middle East.
AstraZeneca (AZN) also reported earnings that beat expectations before the opening bell. It was one of the few bright spots in the market.
Bitcoin (BTC.X) fell more than 2% on Friday. Crypto markets were shaken by a $6.3 billion hack of the exchange Binance.
The hack is the largest of its kind in history. Binance’s BNB token was up 0.06% on the day.
For the month, the Dow gained 1.5%. The S&P 500 fell 1.2%, and the Nasdaq dropped 5.2%.
October was the Nasdaq’s worst month since March 2025. Investors have been moving out of Big Tech and into more defensive areas of the market.
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