The S&P 500 fell 1.22% to 7,626.09 shortly after Friday’s open, which puts the index below its 30 September close of 7,651.54 and wipes out a month that had been running 1.21% higher as recently as Wednesday night. With one session left, October has turned negative by 0.33%.
The index is also trading 2.41 points above its lowest close of the month, the 7,623.68 printed on 23 October. Intel is down 29.42%, Reddit about 22%, and the Nasdaq 100 2.79%.
The S&P 500 Is Back Below Where It Started October
October had looked comfortable for almost the whole of its twenty-one trading sessions. The S&P 500 closed at 7,818.93 on 6 October, which data from Portfolio Terminal puts as the strongest close of the month, and was still at 7,743.98 on Wednesday. Two sessions of earnings have taken roughly 118 points off that.
The damage on Friday morning is concentrated very narrowly by index rather than spread across them. The Nasdaq 100 is down 2.79% and the Nasdaq Composite 2.36%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is off only 0.36%. Volatility has moved with it, the VIX up 9.83% to 18.88. The S&P 500 is still up 10.80% for the year and 11.08% over twelve months, so this is a month giving back ground rather than a trend breaking.
The index spent October climbing and has handed all of it back in the last two sessions. Source: TradingViewIntel Fell 29% and Took the Chip Complex Down With It
Intel guided fourth-quarter revenue to $15.0 billion to $16.0 billion against about $17.1 billion expected, with non-GAAP earnings of $0.25 a share. Chief financial officer David Zinsner told analysts that 2027 is unlikely to generate positive free cash flow, with 2026 gross capital expenditure holding at $20 billion and rising sharply next year.
The shares opened at $64.98, down 29.42%, cutting about $140 billion from a market value now at $345.13 billion. Susquehanna cut its target to $75 from $105 and StoneX to $100 from $140. Reuters called it a global chip rout, and the read-through is visible across the S&P 500, with Broadcom down 4.97% and Nvidia 3.35%. Even after Friday’s fall Intel is up 72.73% for the year.
Intel opened 29.42% lower, the single largest drag on the S&P 500 technology complex on the day. Source: TradingViewInvestor Takeaway
The S&P 500 has given back its entire October gain in two sessions and sits 0.33% below the 30 September close.
Amazon’s AWS Grew 39% While Free Cash Flow Went to Minus $42.4 Billion
Amazon is much the softer of the two mega-cap moves on the day. Revenue reached $201.94 billion, up 12%, and AWS grew 39% to $45.98 billion with operating income of $28.08 billion. The company guided fourth-quarter sales to $240 billion to $247 billion and reaffirmed capital expenditure near $220 billion for 2026.
The cash flow statement is where the Amazon result turns against the company. Purchases of property and equipment were $77.26 billion in the quarter, and trailing twelve-month free cash flow is negative $42.36 billion, a 386% deterioration. That is the same pattern that took Alphabet down 13% on Thursday on negative $9.07 billion of quarterly free cash flow. It runs through the wider data center buildout too, where neocloud operators borrow against contracted backlogs and Oracle funds a $225 billion revenue target on bonds yielding above 8%. Amazon shares are down 2.09% at $238.70.
Reddit is the third leg of Thursday evening’s results, and the odd one out. Revenue rose 53% to $895 million and adjusted earnings came in at $1.40 against $1.33 expected, but fourth-quarter guidance of $1.00 billion to $1.03 billion sat below the $1.05 billion consensus. The company said Google’s AI Overviews cut search referrals by more than a million a week in October and warned fourth-quarter daily users could fall by a low double-digit percentage. KeyBanc and Citizens both downgraded.
Most of the S&P 500 Rose on a Day the S&P 500 Fell
Breadth is the detail worth keeping from this particular session, because it cuts against the headline. Advancing members outnumbered decliners 297 to 206, a ratio of 1.44, and 73% of the index is above its 20-day moving average. The index fell anyway, because 286.8 million shares traded down against 104 million up.
Fifty-nine percent of the index rose, and the 27% of volume on their side was not enough to hold it up. Source: TradingView S&P 500 market breadth · Chart: FinanceFeedsThat split between the index and its members has been building all month. The equal-weight version of the index has beaten the S&P 500 by 5.6% over the past month, and 73% of members have outperformed it. Eli Lilly rose 3.85% and Berkshire Hathaway 0.80% on Friday morning while the index fell. The read-across for next week is Apple and AMD, and the Federal Reserve meeting that framed this earnings run is now behind it.
Investor Takeaway
Amazon’s trailing free cash flow at negative $42.36 billion repeats the pattern that hit Alphabet, so the market is pricing AI capital expenditure rather than demand.