Nasdaq Futures Sink 2.3% as Amazon, Intel and Alphabet Rattle Markets

By Olivia Hart

Nasdaq futures fell 2.3% on Friday, October 30, as Amazon, Intel and Alphabet dragged technology stocks lower and pressured Wall Street ahead of the opening bell.

Futures for the S&P 500 dropped 1%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were unchanged. The divergence tells the story: this sell-off is concentrated in tech, not broad-based.

Alphabet's Class A shares slid more than 12% on Thursday after the company behind Google and YouTube reported weaker summer-quarter growth than analysts expected. That was the stock's worst day since the shares began trading more than 20 years ago. Alphabet shares were down slightly again before Friday's open.

The tech giant had faced pressure to at least match analyst expectations for growth, amid mounting concern about how much it is spending on artificial intelligence. What the earnings release did not answer is when that spending converts into revenue.

Why are Amazon and Intel falling harder than the market?

Amazon shares slid nearly 7% in premarket trading. The company issued a cautious sales forecast for the fourth quarter — the critical holiday shopping period — after fiscal third-quarter results came in below Wall Street's expectations. A weak holiday guide from the largest U.S. e-commerce operator is a signal about consumer spending, not just one retailer.

Intel stock slumped more than 25% before the open. The chipmaker guided to a softer-than-anticipated fourth quarter, citing continued weakness in the personal computer market. A 25% single-session collapse in a Dow component ranks among the sharpest large-cap moves of the year.

AI-related stocks have been volatile across the board. Chipmaker and technology shares have rallied on enthusiasm for the technology, then fallen on concerns such as supply constraints. Friday's session fits the second pattern.

The plain takeaway: three mega-cap earnings reports in one week have turned AI spending from a growth story into a cost question.

What happened to Bitcoin?

Bitcoin dropped about 3% to $77,695 after a major hack at Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange, netted $6.36 billion. Binance temporarily suspended withdrawals and deposits. The incident is among the largest reported losses at a single crypto platform, and the exchange has not yet detailed how the breach occurred.

Why is oil climbing while stocks fall?

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 2.1% to $104.13 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 2.5% to $113.51. Brent remains near the high end of its range since the war with Iran began; the most actively traded contract peaked near $120 in March.

The British military said Friday that a tanker caught fire after a small boat attached two explosives to its hull while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, temporarily disabling the vessel. Iran's Revolutionary Guard said Thursday that three oil tankers struck mines while attempting to leave the strait through an unauthorized route.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations office reported earlier this month that October is already the busiest month for reported attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz since March, in the opening months of the Iran war. Higher crude prices feed directly into inflation and corporate costs — a risk the earnings guidance from Amazon and Intel did not have to price in yet.

How did the rest of the world trade?

European markets were mixed. France's CAC 40 gained 0.1% to 7,981.42, and Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.3% to 10,725.66. Germany's DAX fell 0.6% to 25,895.24. Asian markets were mostly lower.

The so-what: with AI-heavy earnings disappointing, a $6.36 billion crypto breach and tanker attacks pushing oil toward the top of its wartime range, markets enter November pricing risk in three directions at once.