October 30, 2026 | TickerRoast Markets Analysis
The last trading day of October starts with Big Tech back under pressure. Amazon and Intel both fell sharply after hours, Nasdaq futures are down close to 2%, South Korea led a broad selloff in Asia, and crypto markets are digesting the largest exchange hack on record. Labor cost data, ExxonMobil and AbbVie fill the morning.
Alphabet Ends a Three-Day Run
Thursday’s session was decided by one stock. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.38%, the S&P 500 lost 0.30% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.25%, according to TipRanks. Stock Titan notes that the S&P 500’s decline ended a three-day winning streak and that Alphabet closed 12.64% lower, a drop it calculates erased about $500 billion of market value after a quarter in which the company’s capital spending outran its operating cash flow.
The rest of the tape was more forgiving. Stock Titan reports that Eli Lilly gained 6.4% after raising its 2026 revenue forecast to $91 billion to $92 billion and that DoorDash closed 5.61% higher after agreeing to buy Instacart, a deal I cover in a separate analysis this morning. Caterpillar fell even though its results beat analyst estimates, according to CNBC as cited by Stock Titan. In other words, Thursday’s losses came from a handful of very large technology names rather than from a broad retreat.
After Hours Belonged to Amazon and Intel
Then came the evening reports. Per Stock Titan’s tally of last trades before 8 p.m. Eastern, Amazon ended after-hours trading 7.30% below its regular-session close and Intel 23.01% lower. Sandisk, which reported fiscal first-quarter revenue of $11.0 billion and announced an eight-for-one stock split, finished 3.90% lower after initially rising. Reddit, Roblox and Twilio each traded more than 15% lower at 6:20 p.m. Eastern, Stock Titan adds, even though Reddit’s release shows revenue up 53% to $895 million.
Amazon and Intel each get a full analysis on TickerRoast this morning. The short version is that Amazon’s AWS grew 39% but trailing free cash flow sank to an outflow of $42.4 billion, while Intel guided fourth-quarter revenue to $15.0 billion to $16.0 billion, below the $16.5 billion it just reported.
Futures Point to Another Tech-Led Drop
As of 1:38 a.m. Eastern, futures on the Nasdaq 100 were down 1.87%, S&P 500 futures were down 0.90% and Dow futures were 0.19% lower, according to TipRanks. The gap between the Nasdaq and the Dow tells the story: this is a selloff in the AI spenders and the chip supply chain, not yet a broad flight from equities.
The chart shows the S&P 500 over the last six months with its moving averages, volume and RSI, through Thursday’s close at 7,720. The index sits just below its 20-day average near 7,737 and above its 50-day average near 7,698, with an RSI around 51, a neutral reading. It has spent October in a narrow range below its early-month highs near 7,850. A drop of about 0.9% at the open, as futures imply, would take it below the 50-day average for the first time in several weeks.
Seoul Leads a Sharp Asian Selloff
Asia took its cue from the after-hours tape. According to investingLive, the Korea Exchange activated a sidecar on the KOSPI after KOSPI 200 futures fell 5%, halting program trading for five minutes. The KOSPI closed down 4.9% and the KOSDAQ lost 4.3%. Japan’s Nikkei fell 2.5% and the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.8%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.4%. South Korea’s heavy weighting in memory chips makes it the most direct regional proxy for the AI trade, and it behaved like one.
The Bank of Japan held its policy rate at 1.25% in an 8-1 vote, with board member Hajime Takata dissenting in favor of a hike to 1.5%, investingLive reports. The central bank said underlying inflation is now generally consistent with its 2% target, raised its core inflation forecast for fiscal 2027 to 2.6% and agreed to more than double the pace of its ETF sales from January 2027. Governor Kazuo Ueda’s press conference will be read for any signal about a December move.
Treasuries Rally While Oil Stays Above $100
The flight to safety showed up in bonds. investingLive reports that the 10-year Treasury yield fell to around 4.90%, its lowest level in more than a month, a meaningful retreat for a yield that was trading near 5% earlier in the week.
Oil moved the other way. TipRanks quotes Brent crude up 1.00% at $116.03 a barrel and WTI up 0.99% at $103.01, after Yemen’s Houthis claimed attacks on several sites in Saudi Arabia, including the Ras Tanura refinery. investingLive adds that a vessel caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after an incident northeast of Oman, with the cause unknown according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency. With crude this high, ExxonMobil’s report this morning matters for more than just the energy sector.
A Record Hack Rattles Crypto
Binance suspended deposits and withdrawals on Thursday evening after what blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs estimates was a theft of about $6.36 billion, roughly four times the 2025 Bybit hack. TRM attributes the attack with high confidence to North Korea’s TraderTraitor unit. Binance said it would cover all losses and that user funds are safe, according to Al Jazeera. investingLive reports that BNB fell 8.6% and bitcoin slipped to around $77,700. I go through what is known so far in a separate article.
8:30 a.m.: Labor Costs, Then Exxon and AbbVie
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the third-quarter Employment Cost Index at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, according to its release schedule. After Thursday’s 3.6% PCE inflation reading for September, a firm wage number would add to the case made by the two Fed officials who voted for a hike this week. Before the open, ExxonMobil releases third-quarter results at 6:30 a.m. Eastern and AbbVie reports with a 9 a.m. call, according to Stock Titan.
Apple, the Midterms and Payrolls Next Week
Next week is crowded. Apple reports its fiscal fourth quarter on Monday, Nov. 2, the midterm elections are on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and the October jobs report is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 6, at 8:30 a.m., according to the BLS schedule. After a week in which the market punished Alphabet, Amazon and Intel for spending and guidance, Apple’s report will be the last big test of the season for megacap technology.
Sources
- Stock Market Today, October 29, 2026: Nasdaq Falls as Alphabet Drops; Amazon and Intel Slide After Hours — Stock Titan
- Stock Futures Fall as Amazon Earnings Disappoint Investors; Oil Prices Rise — TipRanks
- investingLive Asia-Pacific market news: Binance hack shakes crypto — investingLive
- North Korea Steals USD 6.36 Billion From Binance in the Largest Hack in History — TRM Labs
- Binance says $6.3bn stolen in biggest crypto heist in history — Al Jazeera
- Reddit Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results — Reddit (SEC filing)
- Schedule of Releases for the Employment Cost Index — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Schedule of Releases for the Employment Situation — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Market data: Yahoo Finance, close of 2026-10-29. Charts generated by TickerRoast from this data.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only. It provides general financial and business analysis and does not constitute investment advice, a personal recommendation, a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, or an offer to transact in any financial instrument. Information is based on publicly available sources as of October 30, 2026 and market data as of the 2026-10-29 close (Yahoo Finance). Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results; forecasts are uncertain and actual results may differ materially. Investing in shares involves risk, including the loss of capital. The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information and accepts no responsibility for investment decisions made on the basis of this article. Readers should consult official company disclosures, conduct their own research and, where appropriate, seek advice from a licensed financial adviser. Any relevant financial interests held by the author or publisher in the securities mentioned are disclosed where applicable. This article was prepared with the assistance of AI tools and is based on the sources listed above.
Anonymous reader poll, just for fun. Not investment advice.
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