S&P 500 Posts Third Straight Weekly Loss After Falling 0.57% as Tech Shares Weigh
Key Facts
The S&P 500 ended the week through October 30 down 0.57%, marking its third consecutive weekly loss, according to Seeking Alpha. The weekly decline followed a 1.8% drop in Friday’s session, when the index lost 140.32 points to close at 7,580.07, according to the Associated Press. Selling extended to other major indexes, with the Nasdaq falling 2.9% and the Dow Jones dropping 572.25 points, or 1.1%, to 51,770.31. Pressure on technology shares brought renewed attention to questions about AI companies’ valuations and their ability to turn heavy spending into profits and productivity. Still, the U.S. market remained 3.1% below its record high, according to AP.
AP said technology shares fell amid concerns that the AI investment frenzy had pushed prices to levels higher than earnings justified. The questions center on whether companies will earn sufficient returns on their massive capital spending and whether those investments can raise productivity. “We’re transitioning from hope-and-dreams AI trading to ‘show me the results’,” Joe Tigay, portfolio manager at Equity Armor Investments, said in a note to investors. The remark reflects a shift in investors’ focus from technology-related growth expectations to demands that companies demonstrate tangible results. The losses came as shares in specific companies weighed on the indexes, rather than being driven by a single factor.
Intel was the biggest decliner, falling 28.6% on October 30 in its steepest drop since 1974, according to AP. The decline came after the company forecast fourth-quarter earnings below analysts’ estimates, despite reporting quarterly profit above expectations. Nvidia fell 4.2% and was the single biggest drag on the S&P 500 in Friday’s session, according to AP. Moves in major companies’ shares also added to the Nasdaq’s weakness; the index lost 747.73 points and closed at 25,437. The session showed how pressure on heavily weighted technology shares can quickly ripple through broader indexes.
AI spending plans raised concerns about cash being depleted before commensurate returns emerge. AP reported that Amazon spent 94.8 billion dollars on property and equipment in the 12 months before its October 30 report, with most of the spending directed toward AI investments. The company’s free cash flow measure showed an outflow of 42.4 billion dollars over the same period. A day earlier, Alphabet shares fell more than 12% in their worst session ever, after the company told investors that cash outflows over the summer had increased from the spring as large AI investments continued. These developments linked the debate over the technology to the cost of financing the infrastructure it requires and the time companies need to prove the spending is worthwhile.
The stock losses came in a week marked by data showing faster growth in the U.S. economy. Real gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 3.4% in the third quarter of 2026, compared with 2.2% in the second quarter, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Increases in investment and consumer and government spending contributed to growth, while a decline in exports partly offset it. Real final sales to private domestic purchasers, which combine consumer spending and private fixed investment, rose at a rate of 4.9% in the third quarter, versus 4.6% in the second quarter. The figures put strong domestic demand alongside stock-market concerns about the cost of companies’ investments and the returns expected from them.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell to 4.93% on October 30, from 4.98% late Thursday, after topping 5.30% earlier in the month, according to AP. That marked a decline from the month’s peak, alongside the late-week stock retreat. Bond yields and technology-company valuations remained among the factors investors tracked in a session marked by broad declines across the indexes. On November 25, 2026, the Bureau of Economic Analysis plans to release its second estimate of third-quarter GDP and corporate profits. The bureau is also scheduled to release its October report on personal income and outlays on the same date.