Update: US Equity Indexes Slump as Intel's Results Trigger Sell-Off in Mega-Cap Chipmakers

04:20 PM EDT, 10/30/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.) US equity indexes sank as a sharp sell-off in heavyweight chipmakers and AI names led by Intel (INTC) pushed the Nasdaq Composite down 850 points. The Nasdaq plunged 2.9% to 25,436.99, the S&P 500 slid 1.8% to 7,580.10, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.1% to 51,770.31 on Friday. Technology, industrials, and communication services led decliners while consumer staples and energy topped gainers. The iShares PHLX Semiconductor Exchange Traded Fund, with about $48.43 billion in assets under management, plummeted 8.2%, reflecting heavy selling in AI-related firms. Of the 20 worst-performing stocks with market capitalization exceeding $200 billion each, 19 were technology firms, according to data compiled by Finviz. Within the tech firms, most were semiconductor industry-related, led by Intel. Intel's Q3 revenue fell short of analyst estimates, and Q4 adjusted earnings and sales outlook lagged forecasts. Its shares plunged nearly 29%, the steepest decline on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Intel needs to demonstrate a "leadership roadmap" in server CPUs for a positive investor recommendation, according to a Morgan Stanley note. Amazon.com (AMZN) reported a decline in Q3 earnings and a negative free cash flow of $42.4 billion, driven by investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure. Raymond James adjusted Amazon's price target to $250 from $300. Shares pared back declines, but not before hurting risk sentiment, and were still down 1.4%. "We still expect 2026 cash CapEx of approximately $220 billion, the majority for AWS, and expect to spend meaningfully more in 2027 with a clear line of sight to attractive financial returns," Amazon Chief Executive Andy Jassy said on an earnings call late Thursday. "AWS is a $184 billion annualized revenue run-rate business, and yet the opportunity remains extraordinary." Reddit (RDDT) shares sank 29% after the company reported Q3 earnings that missed analysts' expectations. BNP Paribas adjusted Reddit's price target to $110 from $180. In geopolitical news, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it stopped two tankers passing through the southern Strait of Hormuz and claimed that a supertanker caught fire after hitting a naval mine in the strait, Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster, reported. The IRGC said two oil tankers caught fire after hitting mines in the eastern part of the waterway, according to the news report. Iran also destroyed an unmanned enemy drone craft to the east of the strait, it added. The front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract climbed 1% to $103.06 per barrel, and global benchmark Brent jumped 2.4% to $117.64 per barrel. Gold futures slumped 3.4% to $3,892.20, and silver futures plunged 5.7% to $49.38. In economic news, the quarterly US employment cost index rose by 0.8% in Q3, as expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey, and slower than the 0.9% gain in the previous quarter, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday. The Institute for Supply Management's Chicago PMI reading fell to 55.3 in October from 58.8 in September, versus the 56.0 expected in a Bloomberg-compiled poll, indicating a slower pace of expansion. US Treasury yields fell, with the two-year yield down 6.4 basis points to 4.59% and the 10-year rate sliding six basis points to 4.93%.