Nasdaq falls 2.86% to 25,437 points in biggest daily drop since June
Key Facts
The Nasdaq Composite fell 747.73 points, or 2.86%, to 25,437 points in the October 30, 2026 session, recording its biggest daily percentage decline since June 5, according to Reuters via Investing.com. The S&P 500 fell 140.32 points, or 1.82%, to 7,580.07 points. The Dow Jones lost 572.25 points, or 1.09%, to close at 51,770.31 points. The losses came at the end of a week in which all three major US indexes finished lower. Technology and chip stocks led the sell-off as concerns mounted over AI spending and whether companies would generate returns that justified the cost.
The Nasdaq’s losses were part of a broader decline in technology stocks. The Nasdaq 100 fell 3.5% during the session, while Intel shares dropped 28.6%, their biggest daily loss since 1974. The company said its profit forecast for the final three months of the year fell short of analysts’ estimates, although its reported quarterly profit beat expectations. Reddit shares fell 29% and SanDisk shares dropped 13%, according to Reuters. The broader semiconductor index also fell 7.2% in the session, taking its October decline to more than 15%.
Amazon’s financial report refocused attention on the scale of investment in AI infrastructure and the cash these plans consume. The Associated Press said the company recorded negative free cash flow of $42.4 billion over the previous twelve months. Amazon spent $94.8 billion on property and equipment, most of it on AI technologies. Reuters noted that the company expects another increase in capital expenditures next year. Investors’ concerns centered on the cost of building this infrastructure and how long it would take for returns to emerge.
Spending concerns extended beyond Amazon to include major cloud computing companies. Capital Economics said these companies collectively accounted for more than one-third of S&P 500 companies’ capital spending over the past twelve months. A Reuters report quoted the firm’s John Higgins as saying that the boom’s partial reliance on external financing had heightened investors’ concerns about the scale of the investments and how they were funded. Oliver Pursche of Wealthspire Advisors said investors’ questions during the week focused on the future of AI, whether it could deliver a positive return on investment and how long that would take. Joe Tigay of Equity Armor Investments summed up the shift: "We’re moving from the hopes and dreams phase of the AI trade to the show us the results phase."
October’s losses indicate that the session’s pressure followed a broader monthly decline in technology stocks. The Nasdaq fell 7.8% from its record closing high on October 6. The index ended the month with its worst monthly performance since March 2025, erasing some of its AI-driven gains for the year, according to Reuters. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted monthly losses, while the Dow Jones ended October higher. In the third-quarter earnings season, 299 S&P 500 companies had reported results through October 30, and 82% beat consensus estimates, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters.
The decline spread across a broad swath of Nasdaq-listed stocks: 3,622 fell, while 1,196 rose, putting the ratio of declining to advancing stocks at 3.03 to 1, according to Reuters. The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes fell to 4.93% on October 30, from 4.98% at Thursday’s close. Yields had exceeded 5.30% earlier in October, according to the Associated Press. Among chip stocks, Nvidia fell 4.2% and AMD dropped 10.9%. The moves came in a session marked by pressure on US stocks, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended the week and month lower.
Attention turns after the session to the US October employment situation report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to release the report on Friday, November 6, 2026, at 08:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The release comes in the week after a session that saw the Nasdaq’s biggest daily percentage decline since June 5. It also follows a month in which the index recorded its worst monthly performance since March 2025. The report will be the next economic event on investors’ calendar, according to the bureau’s published schedule.