Nasdaq Futures Fall 2 Percent as Amazon and Intel Hit AI Trade

Update: Selloff deepens in the cash session as Intel falls 30 percent

Updated 18:21 UTC, Oct. 30, 2026. The premarket fall turned into a broad cash session selloff on Friday. The Nasdaq Composite dropped roughly 3 percent, the S and P 500 fell 1.8 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down about 0.9 percent, CNN reported. The Wall Street Journal put the Nasdaq fall at 3 percent, the S and P 500 at 1.8 percent and the Dow at about 1 percent, and said Intel shares were having their worst day ever, down 30 percent.

Intel plunged 30 percent after it issued weaker guidance for the fourth quarter, citing weakness in the personal computer market and manufacturing bottlenecks, CNN reported. Amazon pared its early fall and was down about 2 percent after its results pointed to another increase in AI spending. Nvidia dropped 4.6 percent and a closely watched index of chipmakers sank 8 percent, CNN reported. Alphabet fell another 1.5 percent on Friday after falling more than 12 percent on Thursday.

The Nasdaq Composite fell about 2.6 percent in midday trading to its lowest level in nearly three months, and the Nasdaq 100 was on course to lose just over 1 trillion dollars of market value on the day, while the S and P 500 was heading for its worst day since June, according to midday reporting carried by TechDefused. The figures in the 13:32 UTC update below were early trade readings: Amazon is now down about 2 percent, not the 8.92 percent recorded at the open.

Updated 13:32 UTC. Wall Street opened lower on Friday and the premarket losses held in early trade. Market data at the open put the S and P 500 tracker SPY down 1.56 percent at 760.26, from 772.31, and the Nasdaq 100 tracker QQQ down 4.19 percent at 695.19, from 725.61. Amazon fell 8.92 percent to 231.89 in the same reading, deepening its premarket loss, and Alphabet fell to 279.25, down 14.05 percent from the 324.89 level it held before Thursday's record fall.

The cause did not change at the open. Reuters reported that Amazon signalled its AI spending boom is far from over after a sharp cash outflow in the third quarter, and that Intel warned it would burn cash this year. Bloomberg reported that Amazon spent more than 77 billion dollars on property and equipment in the third quarter, far more than analysts expected, as it builds data centres for AI services. Asia had already closed lower on the same worry. South Korea's KOSPI closed at 5,730.74, Taiwan's Taiex fell and Japan's Nikkei fell, as the Asia reports on this site record.

Silver fell with the wider selloff. Market data put silver down 4.58 percent at 49.80 dollars an ounce, from 52.19 dollars. Kitco reported that spot silver was sharply lower in early United States trade as renewed attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices higher and kept inflation worries alive, while concern about industrial demand and tight monetary policy weighed on the metal.

United States stock futures fell hard before dawn on Friday, October 30, 2026, as results from Amazon and Intel deepened investor doubts about the cost of the artificial intelligence buildout.

At 4:04 a.m. Eastern Time, Nasdaq 100 futures were down 640 points, or 2.16 percent. S and P 500 futures were down 77.5 points, or 1 percent, and Dow futures were down 25 points, or 0.05 percent, Reuters reported. TipRanks put the Nasdaq 100 fall at 2.19 percent and the S and P 500 fall at 0.97 percent at 5:36 a.m. Eastern.

Two stocks drive the fall

Amazon shares fell 7.2 percent in premarket trade. The company reported a sharp cash outflow in the third quarter, with free cash flow at negative 42.4 billion dollars over the past twelve months, and it held its capital spending outlook for the year at 220 billion dollars while signalling another increase next year. Intel fell about 25 percent in premarket trade after the chipmaker warned it would burn cash this year, blaming a weak personal computer market, factory bottlenecks and heavy spending to expand production. Reuters calculated that Amazon and Intel together stood to lose about 300 billion dollars in market value if the premarket losses held.

The selling spread to other chip firms. Nvidia fell 2.5 percent, Advanced Micro Devices fell about 7 percent and Broadcom fell about 4 percent in premarket trade. Alphabet slipped 0.9 percent, extending a record fall on Thursday, when the Google parent lost about 500 billion dollars in market value after its results showed search advertising slowing and cash flow turning negative.

What it means and what comes next

The pattern across the week is the same at firm after firm. Microsoft was the exception among the big spenders, and it still raised 25 billion dollars through a debt sale on Thursday. Investors are no longer paying for AI spending on promise alone. They want the revenue to show up.

Bond buyers moved the other way. The 10 year Treasury yield fell more than 7 basis points in Tokyo trade to 4.91 percent, heading for a fall of about 37 basis points in October, the largest one month drop since December 2023. Energy firms Chevron and ExxonMobil report results before the opening bell on Friday, along with drugmaker AbbVie.