Key Highlights

● The Dow fell 572.25 points to 51,770.31 on Friday, October 30, 2026.

● It still closed October about 864 points above September's finish.

● The S&P 500 ended the month down about 71.5 points.

● The Nasdaq Composite lost about 1,424 points for the month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 572.25 points to 51,770.31 on Friday, October 30, 2026, as a selloff in chip and AI-linked stocks swept Wall Street. Yet the 30-stock average still closed October about 864 points above its September 30 finish of 50,906.05.

That made it the odd one out among the major indexes. The S&P 500 finished the month down about 71.5 points, and the Nasdaq Composite lost about 1,424 points in its worst month since March 2025, according to market data. The Russell 2000 eked out a gain of about 15 points.

Why the Dow held up better

The Dow's makeup helped. Unlike the Nasdaq, it is not dominated by semiconductors and high-growth software, and it includes energy, health care and consumer staples names that led the market in October. Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors gained for the month, with only technology and communication services falling, and energy, health care, utilities and staples all posted strong gains, according to market data.

Dow members tied to that rotation did well on Friday too. Chevron (NYSE:CVX) rose and briefly touched a record high after reporting adjusted Earnings of $5.28 a share, above forecasts. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) hit a 52-week high as investors moved into health care, and Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) gained with other defensive names.

What dragged it down Friday

Friday's loss came largely from the tech-heavy members. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), a Dow component, fell to $204.64 in the chip rout that followed Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)'s cash-burn warning. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) slid after its results showed trailing 12-month free Cash Flow of negative $42.4 billion, and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) retreated on plans to raise $25 billion in bonds, according to market data. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) also edged lower ahead of its earnings.

The Dow is price-weighted, meaning higher-priced shares move it more than lower-priced ones, which can make its daily swings differ from the market-value-weighted S&P 500. Even so, the Blue-Chip average fell 444.85 points for the week from its October 23 close of 52,215.16. Year to date, the Dow is up 3,707.02 points, while the S&P 500 is ahead 734.57 points and the Nasdaq 2,195.01 points.

The macro backdrop

Several crosscurrents shaped the month. Oil climbed above $100, with U.S. crude settling at $104.12 a barrel on Friday amid tensions around Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, which lifted energy shares. The Federal Reserve held rates steady this week, but traders now see a December hike as the likely outcome. A report on Thursday showed the economy grew at its fastest pace in a year in the third quarter.

"The market is much more broad than people generally want to give it Credit for," an Investment strategist said.

What to watch

November opens with a crowded calendar. Apple reports on Monday, November 2, the midterm elections fall on Tuesday, November 3, and the October jobs report is due on Friday, November 6.

History offers a mixed guide. One market strategist has noted that November is the second-best month for stocks in midterm years, though one asset manager has cautioned that fundamentals "are more important indicators of future returns than the election calendar itself." October already broke the usual pattern for the S&P 500, which fell for the month even as the Dow gained.