The short version
- Nasdaq worst month since March 2025: the Composite fell 5.3% in October and 2.86% on Friday alone, while the S&P 500 lost only 0.9% for the month.
- Intel crashed 28.6% on a weak fourth-quarter forecast, its worst day since 1974, after Alphabet’s record 12.6% drop and Amazon’s $42.4 billion free cash outflow over 12 months.
- The crew is watching October’s close at 00:00 UTC, BTC at $77,244 above $76,264 support, and whether tokenized stocks on Binance hold Friday’s prices into Monday.
The Nasdaq worst month since March 2025 ended with chip stocks in free fall. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.86% on Friday to 25,437 and closed October down 5.3%. Only March 2025 was worse, at −8.2%.
Wall Street’s broader S&P 500 lost 1.82% on Friday but only 0.9% for the month. This was a tech sell-off, not a market crash, and three earnings reports in two days did most of the damage.
An hour before Friday’s close, the Nasdaq 100 touched correction territory, 10% under its October 6 record, with Intel down 31% on the day:
BREAKING: The Nasdaq 100 has entered a technical correction, now down -10% from its October 6th record high.
Intel, $INTC, is now down -31% on the day, on track for its biggest drop on record since its 1971 IPO.
Why Did Intel Stock Drop 28.6%?
Intel stock dropped 28.6% because its fourth-quarter forecast came in far below what Wall Street expected, even after a strong third quarter. It closed at $65.76, the worst day for the stock since 1974.
The Intel earnings release guides fourth-quarter revenue to $15.0 billion to $16.0 billion and adjusted EPS to $0.25. Analysts expected about $17.1 billion and $0.43. CFO David Zinsner said “we see the PC slowdown continuing at least through the first half of next year.”
That overshadowed a good quarter: revenue rose 21% to $16.5 billion and data center sales jumped 78%. Intel ended October down 45.3%, its worst month since September 2000. Chip stocks went with it. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 7.2% on Friday, AMD lost 10.9% and SanDisk 13.5%.
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Amazon and Alphabet Show the AI Bill
AI spending was the second hit. Amazon’s third-quarter release shows free cash flow at an outflow of $42.4 billion over the last 12 months, against an inflow of $14.8 billion a year earlier. Spending on property and equipment hit $210.7 billion in the same period, mostly for AI.
Amazon stock opened sharply lower on Friday and recovered to close down 1.4%. Alphabet had already taken its hit: it fell 12.6% on Thursday, its worst day since it listed in 2004, and lost another 1.4% on Friday. Its 18.7% drop in October is its worst month on record.
SIDE TRAIL: Crypto Falls With AI Stocks as the Bitcoin Nasdaq Correlation Hits 0.65
What Does the Nasdaq Worst Month Mean for Bitcoin?
Bitcoin traded with tech all month. Over the last 30 trading days, the Nasdaq Bitcoin correlation, measured on the Nasdaq 100, rose to 0.78 by our count, up from 0.65 on October 23. Bitcoin fell on eight of the 12 days the Nasdaq 100 closed lower in October.
Friday was the exception. Bitcoin had already dropped almost $3,000 on Thursday night after the Binance hack, so during Friday’s US session it lost only 0.7% while the Nasdaq fell about four times as much.
The weekend has been calm too. Tokenized stocks on Binance trade around the clock, and they show no second wave yet. INTCB, the Intel token, trades at $64.82, 1.4% under Friday’s close. SanDisk’s token is flat at $1,155, and the Nasdaq 100 token QQQB sits 0.7% above Friday’s close of the fund it tracks.
Bitcoin Price: October Closes Tonight
Bitcoin trades at $77,244 at the time of writing, 7.6% below October’s $83,624 open. October’s candle closes at 00:00 UTC on November 1 (8:00 p.m. Saturday in New York). First support is the $76,264 swing low, and the 50-day moving average at $81,954 caps the upside.
TRAIL MAP: Bitcoin October 2026: BTC Heads for a Second Red October in a Row
After a Nasdaq October this rough, Monday brings the first test of November. If tech keeps falling, Bitcoin has shown all month it will feel it.
In crypto since 2016. Trades the macro picture and reads the market on the high timeframes.
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