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Stock Market News for Nov 2, 2026

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U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Friday, with the Nasdaq suffering its worst single-day percentage drop in nearly five months, as investors dumped stocks related to artificial intelligence (AI) and took shelter in defensive assets. All three major indexes ended in negative territory.

How Did the Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) slid 1.1%, or 572.25 points, to close at 51,770.31 points.

The S&P 500 declined 1.8%, or 140.32 points, to finish at 7,580.07 points. Tech stocks were the worst performers, while energy stocks were the biggest gainers.

The Information Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) declined 4.9%. The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) gained 1.9%. Six of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 2.9%, or 747.73points, to end at 25,437 points.

The fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), was up 12.91% to 19.42. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 1.18-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 3.03-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 19.87 billion shares were traded on Friday, higher than the last 20-session average of 17.26 billion.

On the NYSE, there were 169 new highs and 377 new lows. On the Nasdaq, there were 70 new 52-week highs and 355 new lows. On the S&P 500, there were 43 new 52-week highs and five new lows.
AI-Related Stocks Suffer, Impacting Broader Market

Wall Street tumbled on Friday as investors moved out of riskier assets and into defensive areas of the market as focus shifted to the midterm election on Nov. 3.  AI-related stocks were the worst performers, following disappointing quarterly results from Amazon.com, Inc. ((AMZN - Free Report) ).

Shares of Amazon fell 1.4% after the company reported third-quarter 2026 earnings of $1.89 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.01 per share. The tech giant posted revenues of $201.94 billion for the quarter ended September 2026, also missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.08%.

Shares of Intel Corporation ((INTC - Free Report) ) plummeted 28.6% following a weak forecast for the ongoing quarter due to a slowdown in PC sales despite the company surpassing earnings and revenue estimates.

Intel reported third-quarter 2026 earnings of $0.52 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.39 per share. The company posted revenues of $16.51 billion for the quarter ended September 2026, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.44%. Intel currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Semiconductor stocks also suffered on Friday, with shares of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. ((AMD - Free Report) ) plummeting 10.9%. Shares of NVIDIA Corporation ((NVDA - Free Report) ) declined 4.2%.

Concerns have grown once again about the potential of AI stocks. Friday’s decline follows a shift in investor sentiment after a disappointing showing by Alphabet, Inc. ((GOOGL - Free Report) ). The Google parent company recorded its worst day in the previous session after missing both earnings and revenue estimates in the third quarter.

No major economic data was released on Friday.

Weekly Roundup

All three indexes finished lower for the week. The Nasdaq ended down 2%. The S&P 500 lost 0.9%, while the Dow ended 0.6% lower.

Monthly Roundup

The Nasdaq recorded its worst month since March 2025, ending 5.3% lower. The Dow ended the month 1.7% higher, while the S&P 500 finished 0.9% lower. 

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