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Mostly Markets DailyWeekend edition · Saturday, 31 October 2026No. 1

Intel's Worst Day Since 1974 Capped the Nasdaq's Worst Month Since March 2025

Five big companies lost about a quarter or more of their value this week on soft outlooks, and the Nasdaq ended October down about 5.3%. The week in eight charts.

Nora Whitfield·4 min read·8 takes
A collage of a cracked computer chip falling off a cliff made of red candlesticks
A collage of a cracked computer chip falling off a cliff made of red candlesticks. Illustration: AI-generated.

The quarters were mostly fine. The forecasts weren’t. This week, one big company after another told investors the next few months would be slower than hoped, and their stocks paid for it. The week ended on Friday with Intel (INTC) losing 28.6%, its worst day since 1974.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.86% on Friday and about 5.3% in October, its worst month since March 2025, Yahoo Finance and Investing.com reported. Even gold and bitcoin fell. Here’s the week in eight charts, and what’s coming next.

The week in eight charts

1/8

Intel had its worst day since 1974

Intel plunged 28.6% to $65.76 on Friday, Benzinga and CNN reported. On Thursday evening it beat profit estimates and said data-center sales grew 78%, but it forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion, short of the $17.07 billion analysts expected (full story).

▼ 27.8% over 3 months
One forecast undid two months of gainsIntel, daily close, $
$80$100$120AugSepOct$65.76Weak Q4 forecast$75$100$125AugSepOct$65.76Weak Q4 forecast
Source: Nasdaq daily closes

Intel blamed a shortage of memory chips that is choking demand for PCs. That warning spread to the companies that build PCs: Dell (DELL) fell 10.8% on Friday (full story).

2/8

Even after Friday, Intel is up 78% this year

Friday’s drop took back less than half of Intel’s 2026 gain. The chip rally has been so big that the week’s worst losers are still far ahead for the year.

Intel this year+78.2%After falling 28.6% on Friday
AMD this year+135.7%After falling 10.9% on Friday
Sandisk this year+384.8%After falling 13.5% on Friday
3/8

Five companies lost about a quarter of their value in a week

Each one fell after its own outlook disappointedShare price change over the week, 23 October close to 30 October close, %
Reddit−36.4%ServiceNow−33.9%F5−25.7%Fortinet−24.4%Intel−24.4%Alphabet−12.6%Reddit−36.4%ServiceNow−33.9%F5−25.7%Fortinet−24.4%Intel−24.4%Alphabet−12.6%
Source: Nasdaq daily closes

Reddit (RDDT) forecast weak revenue and warned that falling traffic from Google search could cut its daily users (full story). ServiceNow (NOW) had its worst day on record after it forecast slower growth in a key measure of future sales (full story). F5 (FFIV) and Fortinet (FTNT) both cut or softened their outlooks.

4/8

Alphabet had its worst day since its 2004 listing

Alphabet (GOOGL) plunged 12.6% on Thursday. Its cloud sales doubled, but search revenue missed estimates, and free cash flow came in at negative $9.07 billion as its spending on property and equipment more than doubled to $51.36 billion (full story).

▼ 27.3% over 6 months
Alphabet is now down for the yearAlphabet Class A, daily close, $
$300$350$400MayJunJulAugSepOct$279.84Q3 results$300$350$400MayJulSep$279.84Q3 results
Source: Nasdaq daily closes

That left it as one of three Magnificent Seven stocks below where they started 2026 (full story).

5/8

Nvidia did more damage to the S&P 500 than Intel

Chip stocks did most of Friday's damage to the S&P 500Each stock's contribution to the S&P 500's move, in percentage points. Together our estimate comes to −1.79%
NVDA−0.31 ptsINTC−0.20 ptsAMD−0.14 ptsAVGO−0.13 ptsAAPL−0.09 ptsMSFT−0.09 ptsMU−0.08 ptsXOM+0.02 ptsWMT+0.03 ptsLLY+0.06 ptsNVDA−0.31 ptsINTC−0.20 ptsAMD−0.14 ptsAVGO−0.13 ptsAAPL−0.09 ptsMSFT−0.09 ptsMU−0.08 ptsXOM+0.02 ptsWMT+0.03 ptsLLY+0.06 pts
Mostly Markets estimate from Nasdaq closes and CNBC market values

Nvidia (NVDA) fell only 4.2% on Friday, but it’s one of the two biggest companies in the index, so by our estimate it took about 0.3 percentage point off the S&P 500’s 1.82% drop, more than Intel. Benzinga put the market value lost across chip stocks at about $1 trillion.

6/8

The selling was concentrated in tech

Friday's red was mostly in techThe 220 biggest S&P 500 companies, sized by market value, coloured by the day's move
TECHAAPL−1.2%NVDA−4.2%MSFT−1.6%AVGO−5.5%MU−5.3%AMD−10.9%PLTR−6.3%CSCO−3.8%ORCL−6.4%INTC−28.6%AMAT−7.5%PANW−3.9%LRCX−6.0%DELL−10.8%CRWD−4.1%IBM−0.2%ADI−3.7%APH−3.4%CRM−0.7%ACN+4.5%FINANCIALSBRK.B+0.1%JPMV+0.7%MA+0.4%BAC−2.2%GS−3.6%WFC−1.7%AXP−1.4%C−2.5%BLK−2.4%BX−1.7%CB+0.5%HEALTH CARELLY+3.2%JNJ−0.7%ABBV+1.4%MRK+2.2%UNH−1.0%TMO−1.7%ABT+1.6%PFEDISCRETIONARYAMZN−1.4%TSLA−0.9%HD+0.1%COMMUNICATIONGOOGL−1.4%META−1.5%NFLX+0.0%VZ+2.5%INDUSTRIALSGE−3.6%CAT−3.8%RTX+0.2%GEV−3.4%DE+2.3%UNP+0.7%BA−0.6%STAPLESWMT+1.9%COST+1.6%KO+1.4%PG+0.6%PMENERGYXOM+2.2%CVX+1.8%LIN+2.2%NEE+1.9%TECHAAPL−1.2%NVDA−4.2%MSFT−1.6%AVGO−5.5%MU−5.3%AMD−10.9%PLTR−6.3%CSCO−3.8%ORCL−6.4%AMAT−7.5%PANW−3.9%LRCX−6.0%DELL−10.8%IBM−0.2%FINANCIALSBRK.B+0.1%JPM−1.9%V+0.7%MA+0.4%BACGSWFCAXP−1.4%HEALTH CARELLY+3.2%JNJ−0.7%ABBV+1.4%MRK+2.2%UNH−1.0%TMODISCRETIONARYAMZN−1.4%TSLA−0.9%HD+0.1%COMMUNICATIONGOOGL−1.4%META−1.5%INDUSTRIALSGE−3.6%CAT−3.8%RTX+0.2%GEV−3.4%DE+2.3%STAPLESWMT+1.9%KO+1.4%PGPM+0.1%ENERGYXOM+2.2%
−3%−2%−1%0%+1%+2%+3%
Source: Nasdaq daily closes; market values from CNBC

By our estimate, technology stocks fell about 4.3% as a group on Friday, while energy and consumer staples rose. Regeneron (REGN) soared 13.3% to its highest close in at least a year after sales of its eczema drug Dupixent beat estimates.

7/8

Not everything fell this week

The week's winners had results or deals of their ownShare price change over the week, 23 October close to 30 October close, %
Pentair+19.8%Vertiv+19.6%Carvana+18.1%Global Payments+16.9%Regeneron Pharmaceuticals+15.3%Eli Lilly+11.3%Pentair+19.8%Vertiv+19.6%Carvana+18.1%Global Payments+16.9%Regeneron Pharmaceuticals+15.3%Eli Lilly+11.3%
Source: Nasdaq daily closes

Vertiv (VRT) soared on Wednesday after its orders more than doubled (full story). Carvana (CVNA) sold a record 217,385 cars in the quarter (full story). Eli Lilly (LLY) rose to another record close on Friday after Mounjaro sales jumped 65% (full story). Global Payments (GPN) jumped on a report of a possible buyout that no one has confirmed.

8/8

Even the safe havens fell

Gold on Friday−3.6%To $3,884.90 an ounce
Bitcoin on Friday−4.9%To $76,826
10-year Treasury yield4.93%Down 0.06 point as Treasuries rallied

Gold futures fell 3.6%, and spot gold touched its lowest level since October 2025, the Globe and Mail and Cointelegraph reported. Bitcoin fell 4.9%, also hurt by a security incident at the Binance crypto exchange, CoinDesk reported. Treasuries rallied instead.

What’s next

Next week brings more of the companies at the center of the AI trade, plus an election and a jobs report (full preview).

  • Monday, 2 November: Apple (AAPL) and Palantir (PLTR) report after the close. Apple’s stock is up 27% this year (preview).
  • Tuesday, 3 November: the midterm elections. AMD (AMD) reports after the close, and analysts expect revenue up about 41% (preview).
  • Wednesday, 4 November: Arm (ARM) and Qualcomm (QCOM) report. Uber (UBER) reports before the open.
  • Friday, 6 November: the October jobs report.

The numbers

MarketFriday closeChange
S&P 5007,580.07-1.82%
Nasdaq Composite25,437.00-2.86%
Dow Jones Industrial Average51,770.31-1.09%
Russell 20002,811.84-1.66%
10-year Treasury yield4.93%-0.06 point
Gold (6:07 p.m. ET)$3,884.90-3.63%
Bitcoin (6:43 p.m. ET)$76,826-4.88%

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Mostly Markets is for information and education only and isn't investment advice. Nora Whitfield is a pen name. Prices are from Nasdaq and CNBC as of the time stated.

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