Stocks finish October with loss in first monthly decline since April
The S&P 500 slid 1.9% on Thursday, its worst daily loss since early September. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 2.4%. The Russell 2000 was down 1.6%. Major indexes all edged down this month, and the benchmark S&P 500 broke a five-month-long monthly winning streak.
Stocks were sent lower by declines in megacaps amid busy earnings. All Magnificent 7 stocks slid. Microsoft was down 6% and Meta fell 4.1%; both delivered upbeat earnings, but Microsoft forecasted slower cloud-revenue growth, while Meta said that its capital expenditures would grow as it scales up AI investments. Amazon and Apple, which reported after the closing bell, slumped 3.4% and 2%, respectively, ahead of their releases. Nvidia, which won’t report until November, tanked 4.7%.
Most other sectors retreated as well. However, the utilities sector ETF rose 1%, thanks to Entergy, which climbed 15.2% and hit an all-time high after earnings beat.
In other individual stock moves, shares of Peloton climbed 27.8% on strong earnings and a new CEO. Roblox jumped 19.9%, as results for both bookings and earnings per share beat expectations. Beauty conglomerate Estée Lauder lost a whopping 20.9%, its biggest one-day drop in history, after management slashed the dividend and withdrew their 2025 outlook.
The 10-year Treasury yields had its biggest monthly gain in over two years to hit 4.28%. Gold retreated. Crude-oil futures settled higher on Thursday following reports that Iran may be planning an attack on Israel, finishing the month with gains.
