Weekday edition
Nasdaq-100 slide, oil price climb, and Eli Lilly's weight-loss pill
Fed Chair Warsh has not ruled out an October rate increase, and card balances could feel it.
At Friday’s close: S&P 500 −1.09%, Nasdaq-100 −2.50%, Dow −0.34%
Nasdaq-100 slides as AI debt worries hit chip and cloud stocks
The Nasdaq-100 slid 2.5% on Friday as worries over the debt loads of AI infrastructure companies hit memory chip and cloud computing stocks. CoreWeave Inc. (CRWV) tumbled 11.9%. Memory makers Micron Technology Inc. (MU) and SanDisk (SNDK) fell 5.6% and 6.8%. The S&P 500 slid 1.1%, and the Dow fell 0.3%.
Reports said the cost of insuring CoreWeave's debt against default hit a record this week. Money rotated into defensive names, the steadier businesses people use in any economy. Utilities funds rose 1.3% and consumer staples funds gained 1.1%. Separately, Federal Reserve Chair Warsh declined to rule out an October interest rate increase after higher-than-expected readings on consumer and producer prices.
For readers
What it means for you: People carrying a credit card balance or a home equity line are most exposed to Fed Chair Warsh's refusal to rule out an October rate increase. Most such rates are tied to the prime rate, which moves when the Fed changes its benchmark. The Fed's two-day meeting begins Tuesday, Oct. 27.
Read the full story, QQQ price history and analyst ratings, CRWV price history and analyst ratings
Markets
Friday’s close
| Market | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,659.44 | −1.09% |
| Nasdaq-100 | 29,187.55 | −2.50% |
| Dow | 52,002.41 | −0.34% |
| 10-Yr | 5.09% | −1 bp |
| Bitcoin (24 hr)As of this edition | $82,642 | +1.32% |
If you own
Tech funds that track the Nasdaq-100 slid 2.5% on Friday, leaving the index at 29,187.55. A daily move that size could show up quickly in a tech-heavy fund's value, since such funds lean on fewer industries than a broad market fund.
Small-company funds lost ground on Friday, with the widely held small-company fund IWM sliding 1.7%. Smaller companies often swing more than large ones, and holders may see bigger day-to-day changes in value.
Technology sector funds fell 3.0% on Friday, a large daily move for the sector. Holders of a fund focused on a single industry could see sharper swings than those in a broad index fund.
Energy funds and fuel costs may both feel the latest move in oil. A fund that tracks crude oil futures, USO, jumped 2.8%, and a lasting rise could feed through to prices at the pump.
Need to know
Top stories
- 1
Banks · −0.11% Energy shares jump as crude oil prices climb. The energy sector fund jumped 2.5% on Friday as crude oil prices rose. The gain came even though the broad market fell. Citizens Financial reported third-quarter earnings above analyst estimates. Its shares still edged down 0.1%. Higher oil prices could lift energy company profits. They may also raise fuel costs for households. Read more
- 2
Consumer · +2.07% Coca-Cola jumps after winning KFC's U.S. drinks deal. Coca-Cola shares jumped 2.1% to $93.90, their 52-week high, after KFC named it the new U.S. beverage partner. The deal ends a decades-long relationship with PepsiCo, whose shares also jumped 2.4%. KFC said the switch begins in January 2027. International KFC locations will keep serving PepsiCo drinks. The loss could add pressure on PepsiCo's North American beverage business. Read more
- 3
Health care · +0.43% Eli Lilly rises after European panel backs weight-loss pill. Eli Lilly shares rose 0.4% after a European Medicines Agency committee recommended approval of Foundayo. The oral pill treats the most common form of diabetes and aids weight management. It belongs to the GLP-1 class, drugs that act like a gut hormone controlling blood sugar and appetite. A pill may appeal to patients who prefer to avoid injections. Read more
AI corner
Three changes that matter
Topics: Chips
Taiwan Semiconductor reports record profit on strong AI chip demand
Analysts said revenue topped the company's own guidance, yet the shares slid 2.3% on Friday, which may show that strong results are not easing wider AI spending worries.
Topics: Chips
ChangXin Memory reports progress on a denser memory chip design
Denser chips could cut the Chinese maker's production costs and raise price competition for Micron and SK Hynix, with server-memory products planned by the end of 2026, according to reports.
Topics: Jobs, Startups
Disney hires Character.AI staff as the startup's parent seeks bankruptcy protection
The pay plan, disclosed in a Chapter 11 filing, shows Disney spending on AI talent soon after cutting its own workforce, including some technology staff.
How it works
Sectors and the market
One group can buck the index. The S&P 500 tracks large U.S. companies and gives the biggest ones the most weight. A sector, meaning a group of companies in one industry, can rise while the index falls when that group is a small slice of the total. On Friday, crude oil prices rose and energy shares gained, yet the broad market fell. In all, 819 stocks declined. The split often shows up when oil prices move sharply on supply news.
Coming up
Tuesday
GE Aerospace earnings. Results are due before the opening bell.
Netflix earnings. Results are due after the closing bell.
New Residential Construction (Building Permits, Housing Starts, and Housing Completions), September. Homebuilding and permits, an early signal for the housing market and mortgage demand.
The close
The big picture. Last week was hard on technology. Worries about the debt behind AI spending left the Nasdaq-100 down 5.5% for the week, and falling stocks outnumbered rising ones on Friday. Even so, the S&P 500 has edged up 0.1% for October, helped by gains in energy, consumer staples and utilities. Different parts of a broad portfolio rarely fall together, and that spread softened the week's losses.
On the calendar. The final October University of Michigan survey comes out on Friday, Oct. 23, at 10:00 a.m. ET. It shows households' inflation expectations, which could matter to a Fed weighing higher rates. Early trade and inventory figures on Wednesday, Oct. 28 feed into the estimate of economic growth.
Not investment advice.