Market Summary

U.S. equities closed out a volatile week with a sharp selloff on Friday, October 30, as a deepening correction in AI-related stocks dragged the major averages lower into the close. The S&P 500 fell 140.32 points (-1.82%) to 7580.14, the Nasdaq Composite plunged 747.73 points (-2.85%) to 25457.43, and the DJIA dropped 572.25 points (-1.09%) to 51770.52. Selling pressure built steadily through the afternoon — the Nasdaq was briefly down nearly 4.0% intraday — before indices recovered modestly off their lows. The semiconductor space bore the brunt of the damage, with the PHLX Semiconductor Index plunging 7.3% and closing below its 200-day moving average for the first time in this cycle.

The proximate catalyst was a post-earnings implosion in Intel (INTC), which cratered 28.58% after disappointing Q4 guidance tied to weakening PC demand, rising memory prices, and supply constraints. That report rattled PC-adjacent names (HP, Dell) and reinforced broader anxiety — already stoked earlier in the week by Amazon and Intel’s capex commentary — about the sustainability and financing of the AI infrastructure buildout. Mega-cap growth stocks broadly underperformed, with the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF down 3.1% on the session, while Amazon (-1.41%) and Alphabet (-1.45%) extended post-earnings retreats.

Defensive sectors provided a partial offset but were not enough to prevent broad-based losses. Energy (+1.9%), Consumer Staples (+1.4%), Utilities (+0.6%), Health Care (+0.4%), and Real Estate (+0.2%) all posted gains, while breadth was decisively negative (NYSE decliners outpaced advancers 1715-998; Nasdaq decliners led 3366-1091). For the week, the S&P 500 lost 0.6%, the Nasdaq fell 2.0%, and the DJIA slipped 0.9%, even as the Russell 2000 and S&P Mid Cap 400 each gained 1.3%, underscoring a market increasingly bifurcated between mega-cap AI names and the broader economy. Year-to-date, the Russell 2000 (+13.3%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (+10.8%) continue to outpace the S&P 500 (+10.7%), Nasdaq (+9.4%), and DJIA (+7.7%).

Market Snapshot

Index	Level	Change	% Change
DJIA	51,770.52	-572.25	-1.09%
Nasdaq Composite	25,457.43	-747.73	-2.85%
S&P 500	7,580.14	-140.32	-1.82%

Breadth (Briefing.com):

NYSE: Advancers 998 / Decliners 1715 | Volume 1.57 bln
Nasdaq: Advancers 1091 / Decliners 3366 | Volume 9.04 bln

WaveFinder Market Breadth (as of 10/30):

Primary Sentiment: Bearish | 4% Sentiment: Very Bearish | 40 SMA Sentiment: Neutral
Primary Bulls 790 / Bears 1427
4% Bulls 109 / Bears 741
Stocks above 20-day SMA: 56%
Stocks above 40-day SMA: 49.72%
9-Month Bulls 11 / Bears 79 (Bull Follow-Through: 30.43%)

Weekly Performance: S&P 500 -0.6% | Nasdaq -2.0% | DJIA -0.9% | Russell 2000 +1.3% | S&P Mid Cap 400 +1.3%

YTD Performance: Russell 2000 +13.3% | S&P Mid Cap 400 +10.8% | S&P 500 +10.7% | Nasdaq +9.4% | DJIA +7.7%

Sector Performance

Ranked by Friday’s session performance (Briefing.com Industry Watch, with WaveFinder volatility context):

1. Energy +1.9% — supported by crude oil strength and Chevron’s earnings beat (ATR 2.09%, flat, P84)
2. Consumer Staples +1.4% — Walmart, Coca-Cola, Mondelez led gains (ATR 2.63%, flat, P95)
3. Utilities +0.6% (ATR 3.46%, rising, P100)
4. Health Care +0.4% — boosted by Regeneron and Eli Lilly earnings (ATR 2.36%, flat, P58)
5. Real Estate +0.2% (ATR -0.23%, rising, P89)
6. Financials — weak (specific % not disclosed) (ATR -0.86%, rising, P95)
7. Consumer Discretionary -0.9% — Amazon weighed on the group despite strong AWS growth (ATR 1.62%, rising, P95)
8. Communication Services -1.1% — Alphabet and Reddit weakness (ATR -1.53%, falling, P53)
9. Industrials -1.6% — pressure from AI infrastructure-linked names (ATR -0.39%, rising, P79)
10. Information Technology -4.3% — worst performer; semiconductor rout (ATR -1.92%, flat, P5)

(Materials not specifically quantified for the Friday session; weekly data showed Materials +2.0%.)

Key Earnings & Movers

Intel (INTC) 65.76, -26.31 (-28.58%) — Disappointing Q4 guidance citing weakening PC demand, rising memory prices, and supply constraints limiting data center fulfillment.
HP Inc. (HPQ) 28.78, -3.05 (-9.58%) — Dragged down by Intel’s PC demand commentary.
Dell (DELL) 424.16, -51.35 (-10.80%) — Same PC-demand overhang.
Sandisk (SNDK) 1151.43, -178.62 (-13.43%) — Beat Q1 estimates but modest Q2 revenue guidance and seasonal caution overshadowed strong Datacenter growth.
NVIDIA (NVDA) 204.78, -8.88 (-4.16%) — Caught in broader semiconductor selling.
Amazon (AMZN) 240.35, -3.44 (-1.41%) — Earnings miss, negative free cash flow, and 2027 infrastructure spending plans overshadowed AWS acceleration.
Alphabet (GOOG) 278.22, -4.10 (-1.45%) — Continued post-earnings retreat.
Reddit (RDDT) 91.67, -37.93 (-29.27%) — Sharp earnings-driven decline.
Chevron (CVX) 235.48, +4.02 (+1.74%) — Better-than-expected earnings.
Walmart (WMT) 123.51, +2.26 (+1.86%) — Defensive buying.
Coca-Cola (KO) 94.08, +1.26 (+1.36%) — Defensive buying.
Mondelez (MDLZ) 64.92, +2.39 (+3.82%) — Defensive buying.
Regeneron (REGN) 927.89, +109.12 (+13.33%) — Strong earnings reaction.
Eli Lilly (LLY) 1417.54, +43.84 (+3.19%) — Strong earnings reaction.
Starbucks (SBUX) — Q4 EPS $0.80 beat; revenue $9.14 bln (-4.5% yr/yr) in line; shares modestly lower on FY27 guidance showing a slight revenue decline tied to China licensing transition.

Stock Spotlight

Intel (INTC) was the epicenter of Friday’s rout, plunging $26.31 (-28.58%) to $65.76 and single-handedly intensifying the broader semiconductor selloff that sent the PHLX Semiconductor Index down 7.3% and below its 200-day moving average. The decline followed disappointing Q4 guidance, with management citing weakening PC demand at a time when rising memory prices and supply constraints are simultaneously limiting the company’s ability to capitalize on robust data center demand — a difficult combination that raised fresh doubts about near-term execution. The fallout extended well beyond Intel itself, hitting PC manufacturers HP Inc. (-9.58%) and Dell (-10.80%), and reinforcing market-wide concerns about the financing and payoff timeline of the broader AI infrastructure buildout.

A secondary but notable mover was Sandisk (SNDK), which fell 13.43% to $1151.43 despite beating Q1 (Sept quarter) expectations, with adjusted EPS of $49.51 versus $46.67 consensus and revenue up 23% sequentially to $11.03 billion. Datacenter revenue surged 61% sequentially to $4.8 billion, now representing 43.5% of total revenue, but modest Q2 revenue guidance upside and management’s caution about historical fiscal Q3 seasonality overshadowed the otherwise strong print. The stock will undergo an eight-for-one split, with split-adjusted trading beginning November 20.

Bond Market & Treasuries

Treasuries finished the week on firm footing, logging their fourth consecutive weekly advance and pushing yields roughly 40 basis points below their October highs. The 10-year note yield settled at 4.93% (-6 bps on the day, -6 bps for the week), while the 2-year yield fell to 4.59% (-7 bps, -9 bps for the week). Further out the curve: 3-year 4.65% (-8 bps, -10 bps week), 5-year 4.72% (-8 bps, -9 bps week), and 30-year 5.31% (-2 bps, -1 bp week). Safe-haven demand tied to the tech-driven equity selloff supported the bid, though a rising price of crude oil served as a partial counterweight, keeping the session’s action within a sideways range. St. Louis Fed President Musalem (non-voter) spoke in favor of additional rate hikes at a measured pace. The U.S. Dollar Index slipped 0.2% to 101.89, trimming its weekly gain to 0.1%.

Commodities

WTI Crude Oil: +2.0% to $104.06/bbl — settled just above $104, up just under $1.00 for the week amid continued speculation of potential military action against Iran following midterm elections.
Gold: -3.3% to $3,899.00/ozt
Copper: -1.8% to $6.48/lb

Overseas Markets

Asian markets closed the week sharply lower, pressured by spillover from the U.S. tech/AI selloff: South Korea -3.5% and Japan -2.1%, overshadowing the Bank of Japan’s policy statement. The BOJ held its policy rate at 1.25% as expected, while acknowledging its price target has been reached and announcing an increase in annual ETF sales to JPY860 billion from JPY330 billion starting in January.

Japanese data was mixed: October Tokyo Core CPI +2.6% yr/yr (in line), Tokyo CPI +2.8% yr/yr (below the +3.3% expected), CPI ex-food/energy +2.4% yr/yr; September Industrial Production +2.2% m/m (vs. +1.2% expected) and Retail Sales +2.3% yr/yr; September Unemployment Rate 2.4%.

South Korea’s September Industrial Production jumped +9.0% m/m (+1.2% yr/yr), with Retail Sales +3.6% m/m and Service Sector Output +0.5% m/m.

In Europe, Eurozone Q3 GDP rose +0.4% q/q (+1.3% yr/yr), beating the +0.2% q/q expected, though September Unemployment held at 6.5%. Germany’s Q3 GDP grew +0.2% q/q (+1.2% yr/yr). France’s Q3 GDP contracted -0.1% q/q (-0.1% yr/yr), while October CPI accelerated to +3.4% yr/yr. Italy’s Q3 GDP was flat (0.0% q/q, +0.8% yr/yr) with October CPI jumping to +5.4% yr/yr. Spain’s Q3 GDP rose +0.6% q/q (+2.7% yr/yr), with October CPI steady at +4.9% yr/yr. U.K. October Nationwide HPI was flat m/m (+0.5% yr/yr).

Economic Data

Q3 Employment Cost Index: +0.8% (consensus +0.8%), following +0.9% in Q2. Wages/salaries +0.7%, benefits +0.9%. Year-over-year, wages and salaries for civilian workers rose 3.1%, continuing to undershoot inflation and fueling concerns about pressure on discretionary spending.
Chicago PMI: 55.3 in October, down from 58.8 in September, signaling a deceleration in regional manufacturing activity.

Looking Ahead

Monday (Nov 2):

Final October S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI (prior 56.0) — 9:45 ET
September Job Openings (consensus 7.100 mln; prior 7.079 mln) — 10:00 ET
September Construction Spending (consensus 0.5%; prior 0.9%) — 10:00 ET
October ISM Manufacturing (consensus 54.7; prior 54.5) — 10:00 ET
U.S. Treasury quarterly refunding financing estimates — 15:00 ET

Tuesday (Nov 3):

September Business Inventories (prior 0.4%) — 10:00 ET
September Factory Orders (consensus 1.2%; prior 0.1%) — 10:00 ET

Wednesday (Nov 4):

Weekly MBA Mortgage Index (prior 3.4%) — 7:00 ET
October ADP Employment Change (consensus 75,000; prior 90,000) — 8:15 ET
September Trade Balance — data pending

Markets will continue to digest the fallout from the Intel-led semiconductor rout and ongoing scrutiny of AI-related capital spending commitments heading into next week’s data-heavy calendar, with particular focus on labor market signals (ADP, Job Openings) and manufacturing activity (ISM).