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Nasdaq falls 2.6% and S&P 500 1.2% as chip stocks reverse; Dow ends flat

Technology shares led Thursday's decline as the 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.96%, according to Yahoo Finance and Treasury Department data.

By

Markets Editor

Published Updated 2 min read

American flag hanging on the facade of the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street
The New York Stock Exchange building on Wall Street. File photo.Photo: Balon Greyjoy / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

US technology stocks sold off on Thursday, taking the Nasdaq Composite down 2.6% and the S&P 500 down 1.2%, according to Yahoo Finance's live market coverage. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended roughly flat.

What happened

Semiconductor stocks fell and reversed Wednesday's gains, Yahoo Finance reported. The Dow closed at 52,867.98, up 11.89 points, or 0.02%, from 52,856.09 on Wednesday, according to data compiled by the St. Louis Fed.

Two of the day's largest movers had reported results after the close on Wednesday. Meta Platforms (Nasdaq: META) shares fell nearly 7% after it reported third-quarter results and announced a new class of non-voting stock, Yahoo Finance reported. Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) ended the session down 3%, even though its adjusted earnings per share of $0.48 were above the $0.44 estimate cited by Yahoo Finance.

Bond yields fell. The 10-year Treasury yield closed at 4.96%, down from 5.13% on Wednesday, according to the Treasury Department's daily yield curve. The 2-year yield closed at 4.65%, down from 4.81%.

The background

The S&P 500 had closed at 7,757.17 on Wednesday, up from 7,659.44 on October 16, according to St. Louis Fed data.

Yahoo Finance said concerns about a slowdown in spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure outweighed worries about inflation from higher oil prices.

Oil prices remain far above their summer levels. Brent crude settled at $115.22 a barrel on October 20, the latest date in the US Energy Information Administration's daily series, down from $130.03 on October 9. West Texas Intermediate settled at $107.89 on October 20, according to the same agency.

Meta said in its results release that it expects "to continue investing aggressively to support both our core business and emerging AI initiatives" beyond 2026.

What to watch

The Federal Reserve's policy committee meets on October 27-28, according to the Fed's calendar. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to publish October employment data on November 6 at 8:30 a.m. ET, according to its release schedule, and consumer prices on November 10 at 8:30 a.m. ET, according to its CPI schedule.

Index moves of this size can reverse quickly. Whether technology stocks stabilize may depend on how companies describe their 2027 spending plans and on the path of oil prices.

Sources

  1. Stock market today: Thursday, October 22 — Yahoo FinanceSecondary source
  2. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) — St. Louis Fed (FRED)Data
  3. S&P 500 (SP500) — St. Louis Fed (FRED)Data
  4. Daily Treasury Par Yield Curve Rates — U.S. Department of the TreasuryData
  5. Meta Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results — Meta PlatformsPrimary source
  6. FOMC calendars — Federal ReservePrimary source
  7. Employment Situation release schedule — U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPrimary source
  8. CPI release schedule — U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPrimary source

Correction: An earlier version said, citing Yahoo Finance, that Brent crude rose above $111 a barrel on October 22 to its highest level since May. US Energy Information Administration data show Brent at $126 to $130 for much of October, so that description was wrong and has been removed. The oil figures now come from EIA data.

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