U.S. stocks fell sharply Friday, closing out October with the Nasdaq's steepest one-day drop since June as disappointing earnings from Intel and Amazon deepened investor worries about how much Big Tech is spending on artificial intelligence.
The Nasdaq Composite lost 747.73 points, or 2.86%, to finish at 25,437.00, Reuters reported. The S&P 500 shed 140.32 points, or 1.82%, to 7,580.07. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 572.25 points, or 1.09%, to 51,770.31.
Intel led the losses. The chipmaker's shares sank about 28.6% after it issued disappointing guidance. Dell fell nearly 11% and Nvidia lost more than 4%.
Amazon slipped 1.4%. Its results, along with Alphabet's earlier in the week, revived questions about whether massive AI investments will pay off soon enough, Yahoo Finance reported.
The selling was broad. On the Nasdaq, declining stocks outnumbered gainers by roughly 3 to 1, according to Reuters.
The losses capped a rough month for technology shares. October was the Nasdaq's worst month since March 2025, Yahoo Finance reported. The S&P 500 also ended the month lower, while the Dow posted a monthly gain. All three indexes finished the week in the red.
Crypto markets added to the pressure. Bitcoin dropped more than 4% on Friday after Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, disclosed a breach affecting about $6.3 billion in customer assets, CNBC reported.
The sell-off comes days before Tuesday's midterm elections, adding another layer of uncertainty as investors head into November.