Market News

US stocks are trading sharply lower in the final session of October, with the Nasdaq indices again leading the declines. The selling caps a difficult month for technology, with the Nasdaq Composite down 5.30%—its worst monthly performance since March 2025.

However, the monthly performance shows a market that has been far from uniform. The Dow and Russell 2000 remain positive, highlighting the gap between battered technology stocks and pockets of strength elsewhere.

Today’s market: Nasdaq leads the selling

At the latest snapshot:

• Dow: Down 573.08 points, or 1.09%, at 51,775.17.

• S&P 500: Down 140.32 points, or 1.82%, at 7,580.07.

• Nasdaq Composite: Down 747.73 points, or 2.86%, at 25,437.00.

• Russell 2000: Down 47.37 points, or 1.66%, at…

Next week’s calendar gives traders plenty to work with. US congressional elections bring political uncertainty, the Reserve Bank of Australia and Bank of England are expected to raise rates, and Friday delivers employment reports from both the US and Canada.

The central question is whether growth, inflation and employment support a more restrictive policy outlook. For traders, the releases will provide the catalysts. The technical levels will help define the bias, risk and targets as those headlines hit.

Monday, November 2: US manufacturing and the RBA decision

The week starts with US manufacturing before attention shifts to Australia late in the North American evening.

• 10:00 AM ET – US ISM Manufacturing PMI – Forecast: 54.7 – Previous:…

This week was not so great for investors looking to earnings to support the stock market. Some big-name reports brought sharp selling, highlighting how quickly buyers can turn into sellers when results or expectations disappoint.

Intel was a clear example. Adjusted earnings of $0.52 per share beat the $0.41 estimate, but revenue of $16.50 billion fell short of the $16.60 billion forecast. The earnings beat offered little protection: shares were down approximately 25.7% in Friday morning trading.

Amazon also came under pressure, falling approximately 6.3% in Thursday’s after-hours trading before  bouncing back. Its report kept attention on the balance between growth, investment spending and the cash flow left for shareholders.

Those reactions…

Comments from Canada PM Carney cross the wires:

• Canada, EU working towards deepest possible partnership, short of accession.
• We will determine substance, scale and scope of this form of membership over coming months.
• Accepted President Costa’s invitation to attend European Council meetings in June to conclude negotiations

Analysis: Carney is signaling an ambition to deepen Canada’s relationship with the EU, while stopping short of accession. Here, EU accession means becoming a full member of the European Union. Carney’s phrase “short of accession” means Canada wants the closest possible partnership with the EU without becoming a member.

The direction is clear, but the practical details remain open. For businesses and investors, the substance…

The Financial Times reports that Blackstone told Anthropic it may not obtain an investment-grade credit rating after its IPO:

• Blackstone says Anthropic may not obtain an IG rating after its IPO, FT reports.

• Stocks slide with AI names facing more pressure after FT reported that Blackstone told Anthropic it may not get investment-grade credit rating after IPO.

Analysis: The concern adds a financing question to the AI spending debate. Investors are already weighing the cost of delivering AI growth. A potential lack of an investment-grade rating raises another question: how expensive could borrowing become? Lower credit quality can mean higher financing costs and a smaller pool of potential debt investors.

The reported reaction—stocks lower and…

Comments from Logan on the economy, inflation and monetary policy cross the wires:

• Fed needs at least two more quarter-point rate hikes.
• Skipping a meeting doesn’t change policy destination.
• Adjusting policy gradually can reduce risks of sharp economic deterioration.
• Gradual policy adjustment helps households, businesses, investors adapt to higher rates.
• End goal is to make policy modestly restrictive.
• Making policy rate destination clear helps economy adapt, obtain benefits of a skip.
• “Unacceptable” that inflation is not headed back to Fed’s 2% target.
• After 50 bps of rate hikes, a pause would make sense to determine what further action is appropriate.
• Financial conditions are providing a tailwind to the economy.
• Higher market rates a message that…

Comments from the Fed’s Daly cross the wires:

• AI really matters for how we think about policy in near and medium term.
• AI matters to price stability and employment mandates.

Analysis: Daly is putting AI into the monetary policy discussion, with implications for both inflation and employment. The emphasis on the near and medium term suggests she sees it as relevant to policy decisions already facing the Fed.

The comments alone offer no clear hawkish or dovish signal. For traders, the missing piece is how she sees AI affecting the balance between inflation pressures and employment risks—and whether that changes the appropriate path for rates.

Earlier today Richmond Fed President Barkin said the economy remains resilient, with consumer spending…

Comments from the Fed’s Musalem cross the wires:

• Moving sooner with rate hikes lessens risk of hit to broader economy.
• US central bank will need to raise interest rates again “soon.”
• Incremental changes in rates better than abrupt changes.
• Higher long-term bond yields driven by expected higher policy rates.
• Inflation still too high, unlikely to ease without Fed actions.
• Monetary policy is accommodative right now.
• Overall financial conditions remain accommodative.
• Best thing Fed can do now is restore price stability.
• Financial conditions tighter but not by much.
• Broader economy and job market strong.
• Risks still skewed toward higher inflation.
• Inflation expectations have been anchored.

Analysis: Musalem’s message is clearly hawkish. He sees inflation…

With a broader US stock indices getting hammered today, now has the Magnificent 7 performed relatively, and what are the technicals saying for each individually. In a video above I take a look at the bias (bullish or bearish), the risks, the targets for each and show and explain why.

Fitch’s assessment of the UK Budget points to a familiar problem: setting out a path to stronger public finances is one thing. Delivering it is another.

The ratings agency sees broad continuity in government policy, but warns that the plans still leave a sizeable delivery challenge. It continues to anticipate significant slippage against spending plans and says fiscal consolidation becomes much more challenging to deliver from 2027.

That puts the emphasis on execution. The key barometer will be whether actual spending and borrowing follow the government’s projected path.

Spending discipline remains the central concern

Fitch’s warning about spending slippage suggests it expects the government to struggle to keep expenditure within its planned…

Lower yields fail to provide support

Gold is moving sharply lower despite a decline in US Treasury yields. The 10-year yield is down 5 basis points to 4.939%, a move that would normally provide some support for the precious metal. Instead, gold is trading near $3900, down roughly $120, or 3%, after reaching a session low near $3891.

That divergence is telling. Buyers have a potentially supportive move in the bond market, but they are struggling to turn it into buying momentum. When the price cannot rally on a favorable development, traders need to respect what the price action is saying.

Connecting the dots from a fundamental or interest-rate perspective may be difficult. The technicals, however, are providing a clearer roadmap.

Moving…

With US and European stocks moving lower, bitcoin is following the risk-off sentiment. However, the move also has a technical catalyst: a break below the consolidation range that had contained the price since October 22.

That range extended from $79,146 on the downside to $81,930 on the topside. Over the last 24 hours, sellers pushed through the floor, triggering downside momentum that carried the price to $76,320.

The break gave sellers more control. The question now is whether they can extend that advantage through the next key support area.

Buyers find a reason to lean against support

The low stalled about $174 above the rising 100-day moving average at $76,146. Just below that moving average sits the 38.2% retracement of the advance from…