Key Highlights

● Rigetti fell Friday as quantum-computing stocks gave back their Thursday rebound.

● No specific catalyst was cited for the move in Rigetti shares.

● The Russell 2000 lost 45.90 points, erasing Thursday's advance of 37.75 points.

● Meta and IBM report Oct 21, and the Fed decides Oct 28.

A one-day bounce unwinds

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI), which develops quantum computers and the chips that power them, fell to $11.80 on Friday, according to market data. No specific catalyst was cited, and quantum-computing stocks gave back their rebound from Thursday, Oct 15.

That Thursday bounce had lifted the group. Peer IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) rose on Oct 15 in a rebound following its $2.0 billion equity offering, according to a published report. No figure for IonQ's Friday move was available.

Quantum-computing shares are often described by investors as among the more speculative corners of the technology market, since the field's commercial revenue is still developing. That tends to make them sensitive to swings in risk appetite and to changes in interest rates, which affect how investors value earnings expected far in the future.

Risk appetite fades

Friday's session was defined by a retreat from riskier technology stocks. Investors shifted from asking what artificial intelligence can do to how it will be financed, according to market commentary, and companies relying on borrowed money were hit hardest. Market reports said more than $1 trillion was erased from semiconductor and AI-related stocks over the week.

The PHLX Semiconductor Index fell to 11,137.29, with all 30 members lower, per market data, marking an eighth straight decline by most counts. Software also sold off: in a 45-stock basket, 41 fell. Goldman Sachs described hedge-fund selling as a "tactical rotation" away from smaller AI names.

One market commentator captured the shift: "That is a change in character, and it's another reason the leaders no longer look like a safe haven."

Rates added pressure. The 10-year Treasury yield ended near 5.1, after topping 5.30 earlier in October, its highest since 2002, according to market reports. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, speaking at an IMF gathering in Bangkok, declined to signal the October decision. "I don't prejudge meetings," he said.

Small caps reverse lower

The Russell 2000 fell 45.90 points to about 2,721 after opening higher, according to market data, while another report put the close at 2,719.57. That erased Thursday's advance, when the index rose 37.75 points to 2,767.28, and left it down about 85.6 points for the week.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 572.99 points to 26,140.03, its worst week since June, the S&P 500 lost 84.62 points to 7,659.44 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 175.28 points to 52,002.41. The Cboe Volatility Index climbed 3.53 points to 19.99, after touching 22.31, its highest intraday level since June 11. Energy, utilities and consumer staples gained.

Rigetti Looks to IBM and Meta Results

Quantum stocks have tended to move with broader risk appetite in technology, so the coming week's events matter for Rigetti even without company news.

On the macro calendar, the Fed's next decision comes on Oct 28, and the personal consumption expenditures price index and the first estimate of third-quarter GDP are due Oct 29. Futures still price roughly one quarter-point hike by December, per market data.

Next week's big tech earnings, including Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and IBM (NYSE:IBM) after the close on Wednesday, Oct 21, could influence that mood. IBM has a large quantum-computing research program, and its results often draw interest from investors in the sector.