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The Nasdaq Composite fell 747 points, or 2.9%, on Friday, its steepest single-day decline since March 2025, as investors sold technology and AI-related stocks. Intel dropped 28.6% after forecasting fourth-quarter revenue and earnings below Wall Street expectations; the S&P 500 and Dow also declined.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 747 points, or 2.9%, on Friday to 25,437, its steepest single-day decline since March 2025, as a selloff in technology stocks intensified. Intel shares sank 28.6% after the chipmaker forecast fourth-quarter revenue and earnings below Wall Street expectations, while the S&P 500 and Dow also ended lower.
All three major U.S. indexes opened lower as investors shifted away from technology and artificial-intelligence infrastructure stocks. The S&P 500 dropped 1.8% to 7,580, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1% to 51,770. For the week, the Nasdaq lost 2%, the S&P 500 declined 0.6%, and the Dow slipped 0.9%, according to the report.
Intel was the S&P 500’s worst-performing stock in the session. The company projected fourth-quarter earnings of 25 cents per share and revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion. Analysts had forecast earnings of 45 cents per share on $17.3 billion in revenue. The report also cited a faster-than-expected slowdown in Intel’s core PC market and described the company’s latest results as mixed.
Other chipmakers fell alongside Intel: AMD lost 10.9% and Nvidia declined 4.2%. The technology pullback extended across major companies, with Alphabet down 1.4%, Amazon down 1.4%, and Microsoft down 1.6%. Their latest reported results were mixed: Alphabet had its weakest advertising revenue growth in five quarters, Amazon’s e-commerce sales growth reached a three-year low, and Microsoft’s cloud revenue, including Azure, exceeded expectations.
Why Intel’s Forecast Hit Tech Stocks
Intel’s outlook added a company-specific shock to broader concerns about whether heavy investment in AI infrastructure will produce sufficient returns. When a major chipmaker projects revenue and earnings below analyst estimates, investors may reassess expectations not only for that company but also for suppliers and other semiconductor firms. Friday’s declines in AMD and Nvidia show that selling spread beyond Intel, though the report does not establish that Intel’s forecast alone caused their losses.
The shift also mattered for investors because the Nasdaq’s steep daily drop erased its modest gain for the week and left it down 2% over the period. LPL Financial strategist Adam Turnquist said mega-cap stocks had faced increased selling pressure amid concerns over AI spending, financing costs and profitability. He also pointed to slowing growth in some large technology companies’ core businesses. Those are attributed assessments, not proof that AI investment will fail or that the technology sector has entered a lasting downturn.
Investors moved toward assets and sectors viewed as safer, including Treasury bonds, consumer staples and healthcare stocks, according to the report. Treasury yields declined as bond prices rose. That pattern indicates a search for safety during the session, but it does not establish how long the rotation will last or whether it will persist beyond Friday.
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A Broader Pullback in Mega-Caps
The selloff followed a period of heightened attention to spending plans and returns among large technology companies. Turnquist said recent earnings had fed concerns by showing slower growth in selected hyperscalers’ core businesses. At the same time, company results were not uniformly weak: Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected Azure sales, while Apple had outperformed during the month, which Turnquist attributed to its relatively asset-light business model and positive free cash flow.
The report said the Magnificent Seven index had fallen below support near its May highs and was nearing another technical level. Turnquist described the group’s relative strength as being at a critical point; further deterioration, he said, could suggest leadership was shifting away from mega-cap stocks. This is a technical interpretation, not a confirmed change in the market’s longer-term direction.
Friday’s trading also came amid other market concerns. The report linked higher oil prices to expectations that the Middle East war could intensify after U.S. midterm elections, and said a reported $6.3 billion cryptocurrency exchange hack attributed to North Korean government agents added pressure to technology sentiment. These developments were presented as part of the day’s backdrop; their precise effect on stock prices was not quantified.
How Long the Tech Selloff May Last
Friday’s closing prices establish the scale of that session’s losses, but they do not show whether technology shares will continue falling or recover. It is also unclear from the report how much of the declines reflected concerns about AI spending, company-specific earnings outlooks, technical trading signals, or other market factors. Turnquist’s comments about a possible rotation away from mega-cap stocks were conditional, not a confirmed forecast.
The report does not provide a detailed breakdown of Intel’s guidance assumptions or explain how management expects to respond to the PC-market slowdown. Nor does it establish a direct link between the reported cryptocurrency hack and the day’s stock moves. The calendar date for Friday’s session is not stated in the supplied material, so upcoming events are described by their reported timing rather than assigned dates.
Earnings and Jobs Data Ahead
Apple is scheduled to report fiscal fourth-quarter results after Monday’s market close, according to the report. The results will give investors another major-company update during a period of scrutiny over the growth and profitability of large technology businesses. AMD was scheduled to report third-quarter earnings after Tuesday’s close, offering a further update from the semiconductor sector after Friday’s broad declines.
Next Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway’s team is expected to report quarterly earnings for the first time since Warren Buffett retired as board chairman in September. The report also says the Bureau of Labor Statistics is due to release its October employment update before the market opens next Friday. Investors will be watching those releases alongside developments in the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate debate, but the source material does not provide confirmed outcomes for any of these future events.
Key Questions
How much did the Nasdaq fall?
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 747 points, or 2.9%, to close at 25,437 on Friday. The report described it as the index’s steepest single-day decline since March 2025.
Why did Intel shares fall?
Intel fell 28.6% after forecasting fourth-quarter earnings of 25 cents per share and revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion. Both projections were below the analyst estimates cited in the report: 45 cents per share and $17.3 billion in revenue.
Did other major indexes also decline?
Yes. The S&P 500 fell 1.8% to 7,580, and the Dow dropped 1.1% to 51,770. All three indexes also finished the week lower.
What market events are coming up?
According to the report, Apple is due to publish fiscal fourth-quarter results after Monday’s close, AMD is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings after Tuesday’s close, and the October U.S. employment report is due before the market opens next Friday. These are scheduled events; their results were not yet available in the source material.
Source: kiplinger.com
