Key Highlights

  • The Nasdaq Composite lost 747.73 points, or 2.9%, to 25,437.00 on October 30, 2026, its lowest close since July 31 and about 7.8% below its October 6 record of 27,599.79.
  • The S&P 500 fell 140.32 points, or 1.8%, to 7,580.07, its worst day since June and third straight weekly loss, leaving it 3.1% below its record close.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 572.25 points, or 1.1%, to 51,770.31, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor index fell 7.2% and lost 15.4% across October.
  • The Nasdaq ended October down about 5.3%, its worst month since March, while the S&P 500 and Dow still gained about 0.9% and 1.7% for the month.

How the Three Indexes Closed

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) tracks the benchmark that fell 1.8%, its worst session since June. The 7.8% gap from the Nasdaq record is simple arithmetic on 25,437.00 and 27,599.79, so the Composite is below its peak but short of a 10% correction. Nvidia fell 4.2% and was the heaviest drag on the S&P 500, outweighing Intel, which plunged 28.6%. Amazon fell 1.4%. Alphabet had fallen more than 12% on October 29, its worst day on record, after reporting higher cash burn. Coinbase fell 10.6% and Strategy 7.8%.

What Drove the Sell-Off

The common thread was doubt over whether heavy AI spending will pay off. Amazon reported negative trailing free Cash Flow of USD 42.4 billion, and Intel guided fourth quarter Revenue below expectations. The JPMorgan trading desk said renewed AI monetization concerns were deepening rotation out of mega-cap technology. The mechanism is simple: if large technology buyers slow Data Center spending, chip suppliers lose future orders, so chip shares fall harder than the buyers. Chip stocks also feel a second-order effect: weaker spending plans at Amazon or Alphabet cut the Demand outlook for the companies that sell them processors and memory. Rates and oil added pressure: the 10-year Treasury Yield eased to 4.93% from 4.98%, and Brent Crude rose 2.4% to USD 113.43.

Risks and What to Watch This Week

The October gains in the S&P 500 and Dow show the damage was concentrated in chips and AI names, but that concentration is itself a risk for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY), since a few large stocks carry much of the index weight. The VIX closed at 19.41. Apple reports on November 2 after the close, AMD on November 3 after the close, midterm elections take place on November 3, and the October jobs report arrives on November 6 at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Federal Reserve held rates on October 28, and its next decision is on December 9.

Where Things Stand

The Nasdaq's 2.9% plunge made October 30 the worst day since June because chips and AI leaders fell together, dragging the S&P 500 down 1.8%. Part of that reflects a month of weakening AI sentiment, and part reflects company news at Intel and Amazon. With SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) still above where the S&P began October, the damage is concentrated rather than broad, but the coming week brings earnings, elections and jobs data that could move sentiment either way.