A daily digest of world economy and market highlights, with links to original sources.
The Dow closed at 51,770.31 (down 1.09%), the S&P 500 at 7,580.07 (down 1.82%) and the Nasdaq Composite at 25,437.00 (down 2.86%). The Nasdaq fell about 5.2% in October, its worst month since March 2025.
Amazon's third-quarter results missed expectations and the stock fell about 2%. Free cash flow was an outflow of more than $42 billion over the past 12 months, a record, as capital expenditure reached roughly $77 billion in the quarter.
Alphabet's earnings missed expectations, raising concerns about AI spending. The stock had its worst day in over 20 years on Thursday and is more than 20% below its 52-week high, while Meta has also fallen more than 20% from its high.
Reddit fell about 24% on lower daily active users, a weak revenue forecast and plans to limit forum access to logged-in users. Roblox dropped about 16% as daily active users fell 9% year over year to 138 million.
Oil prices rebounded on signs the US could resume strikes on Iran, with Brent near $112 a barrel and WTI around $104. Stronger refining margins pushed ExxonMobil and Chevron shares to briefly touch record highs.
The Nikkei 225 closed at 63,290.11, down 2.1%, after falling as much as 3% intraday. The TOPIX was down about 1% on the day and roughly flat for the week.
Advantest fell 5.9% and Tokyo Electron 5.2%, with Ibiden, Lasertec and SoftBank Group also lower. Investors questioned whether AI spending can be sustained, after Amazon and Intel reported heavy cash burn.
The Bank of Japan kept its policy rate at 1.25% on October 30 in an 8-1 vote, with board member Hajime Takata proposing a hike to 1.5%. The bank raised its fiscal 2027 core inflation forecast to 2.6% and will more than double its pace of ETF sales from January 2027.
The Fed kept its target range at 3.75% to 4.00% in a 10-2 vote, with Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack favoring a quarter-point hike. The statement said inflation remains elevated and described economic activity as expanding at a strong pace.
St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem and Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said rates need to rise further to curb inflation. With September PCE inflation firmer, markets are pricing in a possible December hike.
The ECB kept its deposit rate at 2.5% on October 29. Eurozone inflation was 3.8% in September, up from 3.2% in August and well above the 2% target. Christine Lagarde will leave on February 7, 2027, about nine months before her term ends.
The 10-year French bond yield rose above 5% last week for the first time since 2002, with a spread of roughly 155 basis points over German bunds. ING said the bond market has taken over the ECB's job of tightening financial conditions.
TRM Labs estimates about $6.36 billion was moved out of Binance wallets across ten blockchains, mostly within about 20 minutes. TRM and Elliptic attribute the theft to North Korean hackers, and the FBI has also accused the group. Binance says about $3 billion has been frozen and it will cover customer losses.
Spot gold was at about $3,907 an ounce on the morning of October 30, down $118 or 2.9% from $4,025 the previous day. The article did not identify a specific cause for the decline.
The 10-year US Treasury yield closed at 4.929% on October 30, down 0.06 percentage point from the previous day. The VIX volatility index rose about 12.9% to 19.42 the same day.
AI-assisted summary for reference only. Not investment advice.