Nasdaq 100 falls 2.9% as Meta drops 7% and chip stocks lose 8%, while Treasury yields plunge

Wall Street split in two on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished essentially flat, up 0.02% at 52,868, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 dropped 2.9% to 28,959 and the S&P 500 lost 1.2% to 7,663. Of the last three months of daily closes, the Nasdaq 100 has not had a worse session.

The trigger was Meta Platforms’ earnings and its plan to spend far more on artificial intelligence. Meta fell 7.0% to $648.85. Reuters reported that the cost of insuring Meta’s debt against default hit a record, and Bloomberg and the Financial Times described the move as rekindling fears about AI spending.

Chips took the worst of it

24/7 Wall St. attributed the chip drop to a supply warning that deepened the AI selloff. We could not read the underlying warning, so we cannot say who issued it or what it said. What the closes show is that the damage was concentrated: the companies selling the hardware fell about as much as the company buying it.

Bonds rallied hard

Money moved into Treasuries. The Treasury Department’s daily yield curve shows the 10-year at 4.96%, down from 5.13% on Wednesday, and the 2-year at 4.65%, down from 4.81%. The 30-year fell to 5.29% from 5.42%.

That matters outside the stock market. Mortgage rates track the 10-year, and Freddie Mac’s weekly average was 7.32% this week. A yield that holds near 4.96% would, if it lasts, take pressure off new loan pricing. One day does not make a trend, and the Fed meets next Wednesday, October 28, with the economic calendar showing a forecast of a 3.875% funds rate.

Metals fell with stocks, oil rose

Gold futures closed at $4,037.90 an ounce, down 2.7%, and silver at $54.62, down 4.9%. WSJ reported silver hit its lowest level this year, tying it to oil-driven inflation risk. Brent crude traded around $113 a barrel, up 3.6% by Yahoo Finance’s settlement figure. Bitcoin slipped about 3.5% to roughly $81,100. The VIX fear gauge jumped 14% to 19.03.

What to watch

The question for Friday is whether Thursday’s selling was a reset on AI spending or the start of a wider pullback. Watch the flash S&P Global composite PMI, due Friday with a previous reading of 58.4, and whether the 10-year stays below 5%. Our markets page carries live levels.

Sources: index, stock, metals and oil closes via Yahoo Finance; Treasury yields from the U.S. Department of the Treasury; Reuters, Bloomberg, Financial Times, WSJ and 24/7 Wall St. headlines. Closing levels differ slightly between data vendors. Percentages are our calculations. This is market information, not investment advice.