A trader works at the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 21, 2026.
NYSE
The Nasdaq Composite slid on Thursday on renewed concerns around spending by artificial intelligence companies, while while oil prices jumped as geopolitical tensions rise.
The tech-heavy benchmark pulled back 1.5%, while the S&P 500 shed 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the relative outperformer, down just 81 points, or 0.2%.
Meta Platforms slipped 5% even it exceeded revenue expectations and offered upbeat guidance. Technology more broadly was under pressure as well as ongoing concerns about artificial intelligence spending persisted. Advanced Micro Devices fell more than 5%, while Micron Technology and Nvidia dropped 2% and 1%, respectively.
Neocloud leader CoreWeave, whose bond yields and credit default swaps remain elevated, declined nearly 4% as well. The move comes as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC Thursday that demand for neoclouds is “off the charts.” However, he added that capital is scarce and impeding growth.
Huang’s commentary about a scarcity of capital is “spooking markets and reigniting the concerns around the capital markets on the credit side being full from a risk appetite standpoint,” said Wells Fargo traders in a note. They also said Meta’s comments about the large amount of AI funding needed caused the shares to roll over and weighed on overall market.
JPMorgan traders noted that Wednesday’s bullish “tone reversed overnight” because Meta shares rolled over in the premarket and chatter increased “over renewed Iran kinetic-risk post US mid-term election.”
Additionally, “underlying price actions and feedback from our trading desk also suggested the still fragile narrative around AI financing concerns and the lack of conviction/re-grossing from the recent tech reversal,” they said in a note to clients.
Oil prices, meanwhile, jumped after The New York Times reported, citing sources, that the U.S. and Israel have plans for renewed strikes against Iran following next month’s midterm U.S. elections. President Donald Trump also told reporters late Wednesday that Washington is not negotiating with Tehran and that something will happen “fairly soon.”
International benchmark Brent crude futures traded 3% higher at above $112.45 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures advanced 2% to above $99.95 per barrel.
Investors also turned to U.S. Treasurys in their search for a safe haven. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield dropped more than 9 basis points to 5.048%. The 2-year note yield also shed 9 basis points to trade at 4.733%.
