Nasdaq-100 futures fell 2.6% and S&P 500 futures 1.1% as Amazon and Intel disappointed and traders rotated into defensive stocks. Binance reported a $6.3 billion security incident, oil climbed toward a monthly gain and October ends today.

1. TECH SELL-OFF: Intel Plunges 23% on a Weak Outlook and Amazon Slips 6% on a $42.4 Billion Cash Burn as Traders Rotate Into Defensives

Nasdaq-100 futures fell 2.6%, S&P 500 futures 1.1% and Dow futures 39 points, or 0.1%, as money moved out of artificial intelligence stocks. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) fell about 6% pre-market after third-quarter Earnings and Revenue missed, with negative free Cash Flow of $42.4 billion and 2026 Capital spending still forecast at $220 billion. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) fell 23% to 24% after guiding fourth-quarter earnings to 25 cents per share on revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion, against 43 cents and $17.1 billion expected, citing a slowdown in PCs. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) dropped 8%, while Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) each fell about 3%.

  • Intel's client computing and physical AI unit sales fell 5% to $8.1 billion.
  • Risk note: traders at a major bank said "With renewed fears over AI Monetization, the Equity rotation is likely to continue today but the broader indices will reflect Tech's downside."

2. AI SEARCH: Reddit Plunges 24% After Warning That Google's AI Is Cutting Its Traffic, While Pinterest Falls 7% and Alphabet Digests a 12% Drop

Reddit (NYSE:RDDT) fell 24% pre-market after warning that Google's growing use of AI in search is hurting referral traffic. It said daily active unique visitors, now about 130 million, could fall by a low double-digit percentage in the fourth quarter if referrals keep declining, and it issued weaker-than-expected revenue guidance. Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) fell 7.28% after forecasting fourth-quarter revenue of $1.425 billion to $1.475 billion, below estimates, as changes to the EU's de minimis exemption hit European sellers. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) fell 12% to 13% on Thursday, wiping more than $500 billion off its value, after search revenue missed because queries in AI Mode earn less from advertising.

  • Reddit had fallen about 44% this year and Pinterest about 23% through Thursday's close, and Reddit is set to lose $5.7 billion of market value.
  • Risk note: analysts said the expansion of Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode has pushed search traffic down, and the near-term outlook for Reddit is "increasingly clouded."

3. ECONOMY: Employment Costs Rise 0.8% as Real Wages Fall 0.6%, While the Bank of Japan Holds at 1.25% and the 2-Year Yield Slips Below Its 50-Day Average

US employment costs rose 0.8% in the third quarter, in line with expectations and after 0.9% in the second, with wages and salaries up 0.7% and benefits 0.9%. Annual growth was unchanged at 3.4%, but private-sector wages and salaries adjusted for Inflation fell 0.6% over the year. The Bank of Japan held rates at 1.25%, the highest since 1995, and said for the first time since adopting its target in 2013 that inflation is "generally consistent" with 2%. The vote was 8 to 1, with one member wanting 1.5%. All 16 economists surveyed expect a hike in December or January, and 13 see a terminal rate of 1.75% to 2% by about mid-2027. The 2-year Treasury Yield fell below its 50-day Moving Average of 4.609% and is on track for its first close below it since Aug. 18.

  • Union workers' compensation rose 4.3% over the year against 3.3% for nonunion workers.
  • Risk note: Japan is grappling with a weak yen and high energy prices, which have pushed up inflation.

4. CRYPTO: Bitcoin Falls Below $78,000 as Binance Reports a $6.3 Billion Security Incident and Polymarket Briefly Pauses Trading

Binance said a security incident had an estimated impact of $6.3 billion, with about $3 billion in Assets frozen so far, and pledged to cover all losses from its Secure Asset Fund for Users and company funds. An initial investigation suggests a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop let an attacker access a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawals. The exchange suspended deposits and withdrawals, and Stablecoin issuers Circle and Tether froze a combined $2.54 billion. Bitcoin fell more than 4% to $77,994.96, Ether 4.84% to $2,247.45 and Binance's BNB token 7.68% to $694.45, while Hyperliquid's HYPE rose 9.7% to $89.08. Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) and Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) fell more than 7%.

  • Risk note: Binance says customer funds remain safe, but withdrawals are suspended while it works with law enforcement to trace the stolen funds.

5. OIL: Brent Climbs 2.3% to $117.50 on Iran Strike Fears, European Gas Tops 100 Euros and Exxon and Chevron Gain

Brent crude rose 2.3% to $117.50 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate 2% to $104.04, leaving Brent up more than 13% in October and WTI about 15%. A senior US military commander reportedly briefed President Donald Trump on Options for renewed strikes on Iran, while Tehran signalled it will not soften its position despite confirming receipt of a letter from Vice President JD Vance. Tensions near the Strait of Hormuz rose after two tanker incidents. Dutch TTF gas for December delivery rose 3.77% to 101.63 euros per megawatt-hour, the highest since late 2022 and up 35.75% this month. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) rose more than 1.4% after profit doubled to $15.4 billion, and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) gained 1.4% after Net Income rose nearly 200% to $9.9 billion.

  • European gas storage is about 75%, the lowest seasonal level since records began in 2011.
  • Risk note: one asset manager warned that Europe looks "particularly vulnerable" to a colder winter, with energy prices already up 170% this year.

6. PRE-MARKET MOVERS: Sandisk Falls 9% Despite a Beat, Rivian Jumps 8% and AstraZeneca Gains 5% as Defensive Stocks Rise

Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) fell 9% even though fiscal first-quarter results beat estimates, and it announced an eight-for-one forward stock split. Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) jumped more than 8% after an adjusted loss of 48 cents per share against 62 cents expected on revenue of $2.16 billion against $1.99 billion, and it raised its delivery guidance. AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) rose more than 5% after core earnings of $2.79 per share beat about $2.60 and revenue of $16.2 billion beat $16.0 billion. Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) and Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) each rose about 2%, as did Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and Merck (NYSE:MRK), supporting Dow futures.

  • AstraZeneca reaffirmed its full-year and medium-term targets, including $80 billion in sales by 2030.
  • Risk note: Farxiga is losing exclusivity, and a July trial failure would reduce margins on the 2030 goal.

7. MARKET SETUP: October Ends With the Nasdaq Heading for a 2.5% Monthly Fall, Neoclouds Down Sharply and Asia and Europe Slide

Friday is the last trading day of October. The Nasdaq Composite is heading for a 2.5% monthly fall, while the S&P 500 is on track for a 0.9% gain and the Dow for 2.8%. On Thursday Alphabet's slide dragged the Nasdaq Composite down 1.4% and the S&P 500 0.3%. CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) has fallen 30% this month as its bond yields surged, Nebius (NASDAQ:NBIS) is heading for a 27% decline, and the memory ETF DRAM is off 14%. Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 2.12% lower at 63,290.11 and South Korea's Kospi fell 3.48% to 5,730.74, while China's CSI 300 fell 1.39% and the Hang Seng rose 1.53% in the last hour. Europe's Stoxx 600 fell 0.3%, with tech down 1.9%.

  • Hyperscalers Alphabet and Microsoft have not raised their capital spending forecasts this month.
  • Risk note: neocloud Debt levels are under scrutiny, with CoreWeave the poster child of that worry.