The Nasdaq-100 plunged 1,017.66 points, or 3.46%, to close at 28,384.85 on Friday, October 30, extending a technology-stock selloff as disappointing semiconductor guidance and renewed concerns about artificial intelligence spending weighed on Wall Street. The closing reading, reported for the regular U.S. trading session ending at 4 p.m. Eastern Time, compares with Thursday’s close of 29,402.51.
The decline was substantially steeper than losses across the broader market. The S&P 500 fell 1.82% to 7,580.07, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.09% to 51,770.31, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.86% to 25,437.00.
That divergence is the most important feature of Friday’s selloff. The Nasdaq-100 lost almost twice as much in percentage terms as the S&P 500, showing how severely selling affected the large technology and growth companies that dominate the index.
The Nasdaq-100 tracks 100 of the largest nonfinancial companies listed on Nasdaq, rather than every company traded on the exchange. Its concentration in major technology businesses makes it particularly sensitive to changes in investor expectations for earnings, valuations and artificial intelligence investment.
Friday’s decline followed another difficult session Thursday, when the index fell 1.38%. Using the October 28 closing level of 29,813.16 and Friday’s close of 28,384.85, I calculate a two-session decline of approximately 4.79%.
That comparison matters more to me than the 1,000-point threshold alone. The selling extended beyond one disappointing trading session and followed a week in which investors were reassessing how much future profit could justify today’s technology valuations.
One of Friday’s most pronounced individual moves came from Intel, whose shares sank approximately 28.6% after its latest earnings report and fourth-quarter forecast.
Intel’s quarterly results showed third-quarter revenue of $16.5 billion, an increase of 21% from a year earlier. However, the company forecast fourth-quarter revenue between $15 billion and $16 billion and non-GAAP earnings of $0.25 per share.
The contrast between stronger reported revenue and a weaker forward outlook illustrates the pressure facing semiconductor companies. Investors are evaluating not just current sales growth but whether supply constraints, investment requirements and future profitability support existing expectations.
The semiconductor selloff also comes against a wider debate over the sustainability of AI-related investment. Investozora previously examined an AI stock rebound and the risks surrounding AI market valuations.
Amazon’s October 29 earnings announcement added another dimension to that debate.
The company reported third-quarter AWS revenue of $46 billion, up approximately 39% year over year, while reaffirming its expectation for roughly $220 billion in cash capital expenditures during 2026, according to its earnings release.
The important distinction is between revenue growth and the amount of capital required to support it. Strong cloud demand demonstrates that AI-related infrastructure has commercial momentum, but investors must still assess whether the resulting cash flows justify the extraordinary investment.
I view that distinction as central to understanding Friday’s market reaction. Strong AI-related revenue and falling technology-stock prices are not necessarily contradictory. Share prices reflect expectations for future returns, not just the latest reported sales.
The selloff also coincided with declining Treasury yields, creating an important cross-asset comparison. According to the U.S. Treasury’s daily yield data, the 10-year Treasury par yield declined from 4.98% Thursday to 4.94% Friday, a decrease of four basis points. The two-year yield fell from 4.61% to 4.56%, a five-basis-point decline.
Those movements matter because falling government bond yields can otherwise reduce the discount rates used to value companies’ future earnings. Yet technology shares still fell sharply. In my assessment, the simultaneous decline in Treasury yields and technology valuations suggests that lower interest rates alone were insufficient to offset the market’s reassessment of corporate earnings and investment risks.
The data establish that divergence, although they do not prove why individual investors traded. The relationship between Treasury yields and equity valuations remains particularly important following the Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision.
The Fed’s recent October rate decision provides additional monetary-policy context. However, Friday’s stock-market decline should not be attributed directly to that decision without evidence identifying the relevant trading response.
Investozora has also examined the AI economy rotation, which offers a useful framework for understanding why different groups of companies may perform differently when investors reconsider growth expectations.
For investors, the next important test comes when U.S. markets reopen Monday, November 2. I will be watching whether semiconductor selling persists, whether the Nasdaq-100 continues to underperform the S&P 500, and whether Treasury yields move in the same direction as technology shares.
The Fed’s rate outlook and the underlying relationship between bond yields and policy will remain relevant as investors reassess earnings and borrowing conditions. Friday’s confirmed result is a 3.46% decline in the Nasdaq-100 against a 1.82% loss in the S&P 500.
The more consequential question is whether that concentration of selling represents a temporary repricing or the beginning of a more persistent change in expectations for large technology companies.
One trading session cannot establish that answer. The next round of earnings disclosures, index performance and Treasury-market observations will provide firmer evidence.
