The Nasdaq Composite ended October at 25,437.00 on Friday, October 30, falling 747.73 points, or 2.86%, as disappointing corporate outlooks and renewed concerns about artificial intelligence spending weighed on technology shares. The decline marked the index’s worst trading day since June 5, according to Yahoo Finance, and left the Nasdaq down more than 5% for October.
The S&P 500 closed at 7,580.07, down 1.82%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 51,770.31, losing 1.09%. The selling was concentrated in technology and other growth stocks, with Intel and Reddit among Friday’s largest decliners.
The market now enters a week with several events capable of challenging or reinforcing the concerns behind Friday’s selloff. Apple and Palantir report earnings on Monday, November 2, followed by AMD’s results and the US midterm elections on Tuesday, November 3. The October employment report, scheduled for Friday, November 6, will provide another important reading on the economy and interest-rate outlook.
Intel and Reddit Lead the Nasdaq’s Friday Decline
Intel fell 28.58% on Friday after issuing fourth-quarter guidance substantially below Wall Street expectations. The chipmaker forecast revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion and adjusted earnings of $0.25 per share, compared with analyst expectations of approximately $17.1 billion and $0.43, respectively.
Intel’s warning also extended beyond its own financial outlook. Management said weaker PC demand could persist through at least the first half of 2027, raising concerns about processor demand and the impact of elevated memory costs on computer manufacturers.
FinanceFeeds examined the magnitude of the decline in its coverage of Intel’s 30% intraday plunge and its historical comparison with 1974. The stock recovered from its intraday lows before closing down 28.58%, but the weaker outlook continued to affect sentiment across semiconductor shares.
Reddit also dropped 29.22% after its quarterly results and outlook raised concerns about future growth. Although the company reported strong revenue expansion, its fourth-quarter guidance fell short of expectations, while reduced search referrals added uncertainty about user growth.
Meanwhile, Amazon and Alphabet had already unsettled investors with results that renewed scrutiny of the large sums being invested in AI infrastructure. The concern was not simply whether companies could generate additional revenue from AI, but how much cash they would need to spend before those investments produced sufficient returns.
FinanceFeeds’ Friday analysis of the S&P 500’s retreat below its September closing level documented how the index had erased its earlier October gains as large technology stocks came under pressure.
The Nasdaq’s monthly loss of more than 5% contrasted with a roughly 1.2% decline in the S&P 500 and a 1.5% gain in the Dow during October, according to Yahoo Finance. The difference illustrates how the selloff affected technology-heavy benchmarks more severely than the broader market.
Apple and Palantir Earnings Will Set Monday’s Direction
Apple will report its fiscal fourth-quarter results after the US market closes on Monday, November 2, with its earnings conference call scheduled for 5 p.m. ET. The announcement will provide a fresh reading on consumer technology demand following Intel’s warning about weaker PC sales and rising component costs.
Investors will be watching iPhone demand, product margins and management’s outlook for the holiday quarter. Commentary on memory pricing and supply conditions could also be relevant because higher component costs have already emerged as a concern for PC manufacturers.
Apple’s report comes after a period in which investors have become increasingly sensitive to the relationship between technology spending, revenue growth and profitability. Strong results alone may not determine the share-price reaction if the company’s forward guidance raises new questions about demand or margins.
Palantir Technologies will also release its third-quarter results after Monday’s close. Unlike an earlier calendar report that had not been independently confirmed, Palantir’s October 12 investor-relations announcement explicitly scheduled the earnings release for November 2 and its conference call for 5 p.m. ET.
Palantir’s results will offer another perspective on enterprise and government demand for AI-related software. Revenue growth, customer activity and management’s forward outlook will be central to assessing whether commercial demand continues to support the expectations attached to AI-focused companies.
Apple and Palantir operate in different markets, but their earnings arrive as investors are reassessing how future growth should be valued. Their results could influence sentiment beyond the two companies, particularly if management commentary supports or challenges expectations for technology spending in 2027.
AMD Earnings and the US Midterms Arrive Tuesday
AMD will announce its fiscal third-quarter financial results on Tuesday, November 3, after the market closes, with a conference call scheduled for 5 p.m. ET. The date and timing were confirmed in the company’s October 6 investor-relations release.
The earnings report has become particularly important following Intel’s warning. Both companies compete in the PC processor market, but AMD also has substantial exposure to server processors and AI accelerators through its Data Center business.
AMD previously guided for third-quarter revenue of approximately $13 billion, plus or minus $300 million, and a non-GAAP gross margin of approximately 56%. Investors will compare those expectations with actual revenue, segment performance and management’s guidance for the fourth quarter.
The central question is whether weaker PC demand represents a sufficiently broad industry problem to affect AMD’s outlook, or whether Intel’s difficulties are being amplified by company-specific operating and supply constraints. AMD’s results can help distinguish those explanations, although a single quarter will not establish the longer-term competitive outcome.
Tuesday also brings the US midterm elections, with voters determining control of the House of Representatives and contested Senate seats. The Federal Election Commission confirms November 3 as the scheduled federal general election date.
The election outcome could affect expectations for fiscal policy, regulation and the ability of lawmakers to advance legislation. For technology investors, the implications may include future tax policy, AI regulation and other federal priorities. However, the direction of the market response will depend on the actual results and how investors interpret them, rather than the election date alone.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also has its September Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey scheduled for Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET. That report will offer an additional indication of labor demand before the more closely watched employment figures later in the week.
Friday’s Jobs Report Will Test the Economic Outlook
The final major event on the week’s calendar is the October US employment report, scheduled for Friday, November 6, at 8:30 a.m. ET, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The report will include nonfarm payroll employment, the unemployment rate and wage growth. These figures can influence expectations for Federal Reserve monetary policy by providing evidence about labor-market conditions and potential inflation pressures.
For the Nasdaq, interest-rate expectations remain relevant because they affect the valuations investors are prepared to pay for companies whose expected earnings extend far into the future. A shift in the outlook for borrowing costs can therefore influence technology stocks even when company-specific financial expectations remain unchanged.
However, the economic report will arrive after investors have already processed earnings from Apple, Palantir and AMD, along with the initial election results. The combined effect of those developments may prove more important than any single headline.
Friday’s 2.86% Nasdaq decline established the starting point for the new week, but it does not establish where the index will trade when markets reopen on Monday. The first test will be whether selling in semiconductor and AI-related shares continues or stabilizes.
By the end of the week, investors will have new company guidance from three major technology businesses, the outcome of the midterm elections and updated US labor-market data. Those developments will help determine whether October’s Nasdaq decline reflected a short-term reassessment of expensive technology shares or the beginning of a more sustained reduction in growth expectations.
