Futures associated with the Nasdaq-100 experienced a decline early Friday, as shares of Amazon and Intel fell in response to the companies’ most recent quarterly results. Nasdaq-100 futures experienced a decline of 2%, whereas futures associated with the S&P 500 decreased by 0.9%. Dow futures exhibited little movement. Amazon shares experienced a decline of 6% in after-hours trading following the release of third-quarter earnings and revenue figures that did not meet Wall Street’s forecasts. The company reported a negative free cash flow of $42.4 billion while upholding its forecast for capital expenditures in 2026 at $220 billion. Intel experienced a decline of 21% following the release of a disappointing forecast for the current quarter, indicating a deceleration in the PC market.
Revenue in the company’s client computing and physical artificial intelligence group experienced a 5% decline from the same quarter last year, amounting to $8.1 billion. Sandisk also experienced a decline in after-hours trading, decreasing by 3% despite its fiscal first quarter results surpassing expectations. The data storage company announced an eight-for-one forward stock split. The declines arise as investors closely examine the AI trade. In regular trading Thursday, Alphabet shares experienced a decline of 12% following the company’s failure to meet earnings and revenue expectations for the third quarter, alongside a reported negative free cash flow of $9.07 billion.
The decline of the Google-parent contributed to a 1.4% decrease in the Nasdaq Composite during the regular session, whereas the S&P 500 experienced a 0.3% drop. Friday signifies the conclusion of trading activities for the month of October. The month has been tumultuous for the AI sector, with investors closely monitoring corporate expenditures related to the expansion efforts. Hyperscalers Alphabet and Microsoft have maintained their capital expenditures forecasts. Concurrently, neoclouds – the cloud-computing firms responsible for the infrastructure essential for AI datacenters – are encountering heightened investor scrutiny regarding their debt levels.
CoreWeave, which has seen a surge in its bond yields, is the poster child of that worry; shares have cratered 30% in October. Nebius is heading for a 27% decline on the month. The Roundhill Memory ETF, which includes AI memory plays Micron and Seagate Technology, is off 14% in October, while the iShares A.I. Innovation and Tech Active ETF is down 10%. As traders prepare to wrap up the month, the Nasdaq Composite is heading for a 2.5% fall. The S&P 500 is poised for a 0.9% increase, whereas the Dow is set to climb by 2.8%. In Asia on Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 2.12% lower. South Korea’s Kospi fell 3.48%. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 experienced an increase of 0.18%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 closed 1.39% lower.
