Key Highlights

● The Nasdaq-100 closed at 28,384.85 on Friday, October 30, 2026.

● It fell about 1,018 points on the day.

● The index lost roughly $2 trillion in Market Value in October.

● Alphabet's worst day ever wiped out about $500 billion on Thursday.

The Nasdaq-100 closed on Friday, October 30, 2026, at 28,384.85, down about 1,018 points on the day. For the month, the index lost roughly $2 trillion in market value, according to market data. Market data, in its premarket report, cited a loss of about $950 billion for Friday on top of a near $1.4 trillion month-to-date decline.

The broader Nasdaq Composite fell 747.73 points to 25,437.00 on Friday, its worst day since June 5, and finished October with its worst month since March 2025, according to market data.

Where the money went

The losses were concentrated in a small group of giants. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) set the pace on Thursday with its worst day ever, wiping out about $500 billion in market value after free Cash Flow of negative $9.1 billion came in far below the negative $3.5 billion expected. Its Capital spending reached $51.4 billion for the quarter, up $6.5 billion from the prior quarter.

Meta (NASDAQ:META), which reported the previous week, posted its first negative quarterly free cash flow in more than a decade. Both Meta and Alphabet ended the month well below their 52-week highs, according to market data. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)'s results on Thursday night showed trailing 12-month free cash flow of negative $42.4 billion, and the company signaled another increase in capital spending next year.

Chips take the final hit

Friday belonged to the chipmakers. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) plunged to $65.76 after warning of cash burn and issuing a fourth-quarter outlook that fell short, its biggest one-day drop on record according to market data. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) fell to $204.64, shedding about $185 billion in market value in a single session, according to market data. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO), Micron (NASDAQ:MU), Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), Arm (NASDAQ:ARM) and ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) all declined sharply.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index closed at 10,688.80 after a steep October decline. Communication services, home to Alphabet and Meta, had its worst month since April 2022, according to market data.

The spending debate

At the heart of the selloff is a question about returns on AI investment. "Together, Amazon, Google, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Meta spent more than $200bn in the third quarter alone," a market analyst said. She also warned that "the risk is that higher financing costs will absorb more of the cash generated," a concern sharpened by rising expectations for a December Fed rate hike.

Not every megacap was punished equally. Microsoft, which beat on its Azure cloud Business and raised $25 billion in a Debt sale, was roughly flat on Thursday after its report. "Microsoft's AI spending was rational and measured, and it has remained cash-flow positive," said a market strategist. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), which has yet to report, held up best among the Magnificent Seven on Friday.

What to watch

Apple, the last Magnificent Seven company to report this season, releases results on Monday, November 2, and Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) reports the same evening. The midterm elections on Tuesday, November 3, and the October jobs report on Friday, November 6, could shape the outlook for rates and the AI trade.

Strategists were split on how worrying the slide is. A senior market strategist said tech's decline "does not appear abnormal" compared with earlier bull-market pullbacks. A senior market analyst said that "strong AI Demand is no longer enough on its own."