Markets Before the Open: Alphabet’s Worst Day Hits Nasdaq, Amazon and Intel Slide (Oct 30, 2026)

Wall Street ended mixed on Thursday as Alphabet had its worst day on record: the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.38% to 26,184.72, the S&P 500 slipped 0.30% to 7,720.39 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.25%, while the Russell 2000 rose 1.01%. After the close Amazon and Intel fell on their results. European stocks closed at a seven-week high after the European Central Bank held rates. Today, October 30, 2026, the Bank of Japan kept its policy rate at 1.25%, Asian tech stocks sold off, and Exxon Mobil, Chevron and AbbVie report before the US open. Data cut-off: 08:05 UTC on Friday (10:05 in Bucharest). The freshest timestamp among the sources below is 07:07 UTC (08:07 CET); Asian readings come from reports published between 04:00 and 07:00 UTC and futures kept moving in that window, so figures may be stale by the time you read this.

Thursday, October 29: how the main indices closed

Sources: the US closes and the Russell 2000 are from AP via myMotherLode (October 29, 2026, 4:11 p.m. PDT), matching Cappnotes (page updated October 29, 2026, 21:34 UTC); TradingKey gives the same S&P 500 and Nasdaq closes and a Dow level of 52,348.24, while its related article and the two sources above say 52,342.56, and Saxo Morning Brew (October 30, 2026) gives rounded levels and moves that agree. The STOXX 600 close and change are from Reuters via Euronext (October 29, 2026, 19:01) and Cappnotes. The DAX levels disagree: Cappnotes shows 26,039.68 (+1.31%), while ad-hoc-news.de records 26,052.75 (+1.38%) at 17:59 CET, and Saxo says about 26,040 (+1.3%), so the chart uses +1.31%. The FTSE 100, CAC 40 and Nikkei levels come from Cappnotes alone, with Saxo confirming the rounded European moves. Market-data summaries, not exchange files, so the last decimal may differ.

Rates, oil, gold and currencies

Sources: Thursday figures from Cappnotes; morning figures from Investing.com Japan close report (03:00, time zone not stated), Daijiworld (12:12 IST, i.e. 06:42 UTC), TraderFactor (04:15 UTC), TokenPost, TradingKey and Saxo. The Brent rows are not like for like: the December and January contracts trade several dollars apart, and the two morning oil quotes were taken at different times. One source puts Thursday’s gold at $4,021.52 (spot, TradingKey) and Brent at $111.59, which looks like a different contract. The December Brent contract expires today, so from Monday the headline Brent price will refer to the January contract, which trades about $4 lower (FinanceFeeds). Compare only within a row.

What moved markets on Thursday

Alphabet and the AI spending question. Alphabet fell 12.64%, its worst day since listing, after a first double miss since 2022, negative free cash flow of $9.07 billion and 2026 capital spending guidance of $195 billion to $205 billion (Cappnotes). MarketScreener puts the market-value loss at about $480 billion and says investors wanted a credible timetable for returns on AI spending; Saxo says about $500 billion. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 1.42%, Marvell 13.24%, ServiceNow 26.95% and Fortinet 20.09%, and Microsoft closed 0.16% lower after early gains (Cappnotes; TradingKey). Technology (-1.18%) and communication services (-1.87%) were the only S&P 500 sectors to fall (SPDR ETF proxies, Cappnotes).

Everything else rose. About 80% of S&P 500 stocks closed higher (TradingKey), the equal-weight S&P 500 ETF gained 1.20% and the Russell 2000 1.01%. Health care (+2.40%), real estate (+2.21%) and consumer staples (+1.54%) led. Cappnotes reports Eli Lilly +6.63% on adjusted earnings of $7.48 per share versus $6.26 expected, Merck +3.83% after raising its profit outlook and Mastercard +4.16%, while Caterpillar fell 9.25%, its worst day since March 2020, on soft construction sales despite beating estimates. These are press reports; I have not seen the companies’ own releases.

Data and rates. Third-quarter US GDP grew at an annualised 3.4% against 3.1% expected and 2.2% in the second quarter. The September PCE price index rose 0.5% on the month and 3.6% on the year, against survey medians of 0.5% and 3.7% quoted in our previous edition; core PCE rose 0.3% and 3.1%, in line. Initial jobless claims were 194,000 against a 200,000 median (Cappnotes; TradingKey; Saxo; I have not seen the Bureau of Economic Analysis release itself). Treasuries rallied despite the inflation print, taking the 10-year yield to 4.98%. CME FedWatch put the chance of a December Fed hike at 78%, down from 84% (Cappnotes); that is a market-implied probability, not a forecast by this site.

After the close: Amazon and Intel. Amazon reported net sales of $201.9 billion (+12%), operating income of $28.1 billion, diluted earnings of $1.89 per share (against $1.95 a year earlier) and AWS sales of $46.0 billion (+39%); it expects 2026 cash capital spending of about $220 billion and fourth-quarter net sales of $240.0 billion to $247.0 billion, and trailing twelve-month free cash flow was an outflow of $42.4 billion (Amazon press release (SEC exhibit 99.1, October 29, 2026)). Its shares were down about 5% to 7% in extended and early trading depending on the source and time (Cappnotes -6.23%; MarketScreener (07:07 UTC); Saxo). Intel fell 16.85% after hours (Cappnotes) on fourth-quarter guidance of $15 billion to $16 billion in revenue and $0.25 non-GAAP earnings per share (TradingKey); Saxo says about 23% and MarketScreener about a quarter of its value, so the size depends on the time of the quote.

Europe and the ECB. The ECB left rates unchanged but signalled a possible hike in December, citing energy-driven inflation risks, and President Christine Lagarde is stepping down (Reuters via Euronext (October 29, 2026, 19:01)); Cappnotes and Saxo give February 7, 2027 as the date. The euro touched a 17-month low of 1.1103 on the decision before closing at 1.1181 (Cappnotes). Renault rose about 7%, Aixtron 8.5% and Airbus 2.3%, Shell hit a record high after its best quarterly profit since 2022, and BBVA fell 2.6% (Reuters via Euronext); Kongsberg gained 13% and Haleon fell as much as 14% after cutting its sales outlook (Saxo). Euro-area inflation was already 3.8% in September, with energy up 18.9% (Eurostat (October 16, 2026)).

Oil, the Gulf and crypto. Brent (December) settled at $114.88 and WTI at $102.00 on Thursday. Cappnotes reports that Saudi air defences intercepted Houthi missiles fired at Riyadh, that Tehran pressed a seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and that President Trump denied peace talks were under way; Saxo adds a tanker attack in the Strait of Hormuz and reports of Iran peace-deal progress, and Panthere Group says oil rose this morning on reports of possible US action involving Iran. According to FinanceFeeds (06:55 UTC), which relays another outlet, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said three tankers hit mines near the Strait and UKMTO reported a tanker struck by explosive devices, but no maritime authority had independently confirmed Iran’s account and US Central Command rejected it; Brent is on course for a gain of nearly 11% in October. These are press reports that I have not independently confirmed, and they partly conflict. Separately, Binance halted withdrawals after what it estimates as a $6.3 billion theft, potentially the largest crypto theft on record according to Saxo; Bitcoin fell to about $77,000 to $78,200 (Investing.com; Saxo).

Overnight in Asia

The Bank of Japan held its policy rate at 1.25% in an 8-1 vote, with board member Hajime Takata favouring a rise to 1.50% (TraderFactor (04:15 UTC)). Saxo says the bank signalled underlying inflation is broadly at its 2% target, that a December hike remains in view and that it plans to speed up sales of its ETF holdings next year; Tokyo core inflation was 2.6% in October, in line with expectations (Investing.com (published 04:38, updated 07:16, time zone not stated)). Tech-heavy markets sold off. Daijiworld (12:12 IST, i.e. 06:42 UTC) has the Nikkei 225 down 2.6% at 62,960.60 (our arithmetic against Thursday’s 64,659.47 gives -2.63%), but Investing.com Japan close report (03:00, time zone not stated) shows -2.06%, so the size of the fall depends on the source. The Kospi lost 3.53% to 5,728.04 with SK Hynix down about 7% (TokenPost (06:41 UTC)), while Daijiworld has it down 5.4%; the two disagree and I could not tell which is the close. Daijiworld shows the Hang Seng up 1.2% at 23,225.69, the Shanghai Composite down 0.9% at 3,618.14 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 up 0.5% at 8,937.60; Investing.com’s percentages differ (+1.47%, -1.44% and +0.18%), probably because they were taken at different times. Saxo notes the Nikkei is heading for a monthly fall of about 5% and the Kospi for about 16%. Nasdaq 100 futures were down nearly 2% at 05:35 UTC (Panthere Group (05:35 UTC)) and more than 2% at 06:05 GMT (Investing.com); European indices were seen opening broadly lower with the FTSE 100 higher, and the DAX and Euro Stoxx 50 edged lower early (MarketScreener (07:07 UTC)).

Friday, October 30: what is scheduled

Sources: the Bank of Japan decision, Tokyo CPI and Employment Cost Index consensus from TraderFactor (04:15 UTC) and TokenPost (04:07 UTC); Employment Cost Index, Chicago PMI and Fed speaker times from Kiplinger weekly calendar; the Chicago PMI previous reading from TraderFactor; the euro-area GDP time from financecalendar.com, which itself labels the time unconfirmed and gives no consensus; earnings EPS estimates and call times from the Stock Titan earnings calendar (Nasdaq data as of October 26), which gives conference-call times rather than release times, so check each company’s investor-relations page. Our previews cover AbbVie and Colgate-Palmolive. Saxo also lists preliminary euro-area October inflation for today, but financecalendar.com shows the next flash on November 4, so I have left it out; check the Eurostat calendar. Consensus varies by provider and release times can change.

Today’s tests are the US labour-cost data, how the Fed speakers read Thursday’s inflation figures, and whether the oil majors’ results match the sharp year-on-year earnings gains the consensus figures imply. With Amazon and Intel indicated lower, the US open will show how far Thursday’s tech selloff extends.

The next trading days

According to Saxo Morning Brew (October 30, 2026): on Monday, November 2, US ISM manufacturing and earnings from Apple and Palantir; on Tuesday, November 3, the Reserve Bank of Australia decision, the US midterm elections and earnings from AMD and Pfizer; on Wednesday, November 4, US ADP employment and ISM services, with Novo Nordisk, Qualcomm and Uber reporting; on Thursday, November 5, the Bank of England decision; and on Friday, November 6, US nonfarm payrolls. I have not confirmed the company dates with the companies. For yesterday’s levels, see our previous edition; the Fed’s meeting dates are on the Federal Reserve calendar.

Sources

• Amazon: third quarter 2026 results, SEC exhibit 99.1 (October 29, 2026)
• Eurostat: euro-area annual inflation, September 2026 (October 16, 2026)
• Federal Reserve: FOMC meeting calendar
• Market-data summaries and news, not primary sources: Cappnotes (page updated October 29, 2026, 21:34 UTC); AP via myMotherLode (October 29, 2026, 4:11 p.m. PDT); TradingKey (October 30, 2026, 12:44 a.m., time zone not stated); Saxo Morning Brew (October 30, 2026); Reuters via Euronext (October 29, 2026, 19:01); ad-hoc-news.de (October 29, 2026, 22:59); Investing.com (published 04:38, updated 07:16, time zone not stated); Investing.com Japan close report (03:00, time zone not stated); Daijiworld (12:12 IST, i.e. 06:42 UTC); TokenPost (06:41 UTC); TokenPost (04:07 UTC); TraderFactor (04:15 UTC); MarketScreener (07:07 UTC); Panthere Group (05:35 UTC); Kiplinger weekly calendar; Stock Titan earnings calendar (Nasdaq data as of October 26); financecalendar.com; financecalendar.com; FinanceFeeds (October 30, 2026, 06:55 UTC)

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Figures come from the sources listed, as of the times stated, and may be revised. Market-data summaries can differ slightly from official exchange figures. Confirm current prices with your broker. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of capital.