US Close 22 October 2026: Nasdaq -2.60% as Chipmakers Slide on AI Spending Doubts; META.US -6.98%
S&P 500 close: 7,663.43 (-1.21%) VIX: 19.03 (+14.09%) Sentiment: bearish
The S&P 500 closed at 7,663.43 on 22 October 2026, down 93.74 points or 1.21%, as chipmakers and the largest AI spenders fell on renewed doubts about AI capital spending, per Reuters. META.US lost 6.98% to $648.85 after Meta reported its first cash outflow in more than a decade and set up non-voting shares to fund AI spending, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 6.7%, its biggest drop since 23 June. Brent settled 4% higher at $113.17 on a New York Times report of US and Israeli plans for renewed strikes on Iran, while the 10-year Treasury yield fell about 19 bps to 4.95%.
At a glance
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,663.43 | -1.21% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 26,008.86 | -2.60% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 52,867.98 | +0.02% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,784.03 | +0.11% |
| VIX | 19.03 | +14.09% |
The Nasdaq lost 694.00 points, its steepest daily drop since early June, and the S&P 500 posted its worst session since July, per CNBC. The Dow added 11.89 points. On the Nasdaq, 2,022 stocks rose and 2,766 fell, while NYSE advancers edged decliners 1.01 to 1, per Reuters. Volume on US exchanges was 18.79 billion shares against a 20-day average of 17.19 billion. The S&P 500 traded between 7,640.75 and 7,699.60 in hourly bars and closed 23 points above the low.
What moved the index
The S&P 500 lost 121 bps on 22 October 2026; seven large technology and platform stocks took about 123 bps on their own, and the defensive sectors gave back about 40 bps.
| Driver | Move | Approx. index weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nvidia, Microsoft, Broadcom, Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, Tesla | -2.23% to -6.98% | about 32% | about -123 bps |
| Other chipmakers (AMD, Micron, Lam, Marvell, Teradyne) | -6.26% to -11.76% | about 4% | about -30 bps |
| Apple | +1.23% | about 7% | about +9 bps |
| Staples, health care, financials | +3.31%, +1.32%, +1.09% | about 27% combined | about +40 bps |
- NVDA.US -4.40% to $212.21, worth about 33 bps on its own. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC that demand from neoclouds is "off the charts" but that capital for the sector is scarce; CRWV.US fell 10.06% to $55.60.
- AMZN.US -4.57%, GOOGL.US -3.15%, AVGO.US -4.31% and MSFT.US -2.23%. Wells Fargo traders said Meta's comments on the size of its AI funding needs weighed on the whole market, per CNBC.
- Rates and oil: the 2-year yield fell more than 16 bps to 4.659%, per CNBC, as bonds drew safe-haven demand. Reuters reported that markets price a 25 bps Fed hike before year-end.
These four drivers sum to about 104 bps of the 121 bps move; industrials (-0.94%) and energy (-0.87%) add about 10 bps, and the weights are approximate.
Session highlights
- 26% is how far the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index now sits below its 22 June record close, per Reuters; it is still up 51.5% for the year. AMD.US fell 8.10%, MRVL.US 8.70%, SNDK.US 8.51%, MU.US 6.26% and INTC.US 8.04%.
- LRCX.US -11.76% to $230.15 after Lam Research guided fiscal second-quarter revenue to $8.20 billion to $9.00 billion against an $8.53 billion estimate, per Newsquawk. TER.US fell 10.63%.
- AI power stocks: GEV.US -10.64%, VST.US -9.81%, BE.US -8.70%, PWR.US -8.10% and ETN.US -6.33%, as Meta's capital spending plan raised questions about data center returns, per CNBC.
- MRNA.US -17.57% to $202.63 after partial results from its personalized melanoma vaccine trial leaked early, per CNBC. The full data showed the shot plus Keytruda cut the risk of recurrence or death by 42% against Keytruda alone.
- PG.US +5.58% to $165.59 on fiscal first-quarter adjusted EPS of $2.00 against a $1.88 LSEG estimate and raised full-year revenue growth guidance to 2% to 4%, per CNBC. LMT.US gained 6.96% after Lockheed raised its 2026 sales forecast to $80 billion to $82 billion, per CNBC.
- BX.US +8.38% to $118.75 after Blackstone said wider credit spreads on AI-related debt could lock in higher returns, per Reuters. UNP.US rose 3.55% on a quarterly earnings beat.
Sector scorecard
- Best: Consumer staples (+3.31%)
- Worst: Information technology (-3.29%)
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 6.60 pts
- Utilities (+2.07%), health care (+1.32%), financials (+1.09%) and real estate (+1.09%) rose; communication services (-1.42%), industrials (-0.94%), energy (-0.87%) and consumer discretionary (-0.45%) fell, based on the SPDR sector funds.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| FMCC.US | +14.91% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| POOL.US | +14.36% | Q3 sales up 4% to $1.5 billion; confirmed annual EPS guidance |
| BMI.US | +13.48% | Q3 EPS $1.24 against a $1.23 consensus |
| KSS.US | +11.82% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| SPOT.US | +11.10% | Q4 profit forecast above estimates; 306 million subscribers |
| TTMI.US | -27.67% | Q4 revenue guidance midpoint below consensus; higher debt after acquisitions |
| KALU.US | -25.31% | Q3 EPS $1.89 against $2.37 expected; EBITDA outlook toward low end |
| FPS.US | -21.54% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| CRS.US | -20.62% | Fiscal Q1 revenue $798.2 million against $830.8 million expected |
| MRNA.US | -17.57% | Melanoma vaccine data leaked before the full release |
After-hours earnings
Western Digital dipped 3% after hours on 22 October 2026 even though it beat first-quarter estimates and guided above consensus, per Investing.com.
- WDC.US closed the regular session at $354.19 (-6.43%), then dipped 3% after hours, per Investing.com, on adjusted EPS of $4.64 and revenue of $4.38 billion. Second-quarter revenue guidance is $5.00 billion to $5.20 billion against a $4.57 billion estimate.
- DECK.US dropped 7% after hours after second-quarter revenue of $1.48 billion missed the $1.51 billion estimate and fiscal 2027 revenue guidance of $5.70 billion to $5.725 billion came in below the $5.878 billion consensus, per Investing.com.
- BE.US fell 5% after hours on top of an 8.70% regular-session loss, per Investing.com, despite Q3 EPS of $0.94 against $0.69 expected and a raised 2026 revenue outlook of $4.40 billion to $4.60 billion.
- FIX.US fell 5% after hours on adjusted EPS of $13.91 and revenue of $3.77 billion, both above estimates, per Investing.com. RNG.US surged 14% after raising its 2026 EPS outlook to $5.07 to $5.12.
Notable announcements
- Meta Platforms: Meta will distribute new non-voting Class C shares one for one to Class A and B holders to support AI funding, per Newsquawk. META.US fell 6.98%.
- Lockheed Martin: backlog reached a record $292 billion, including a $52.5 billion multiyear PAC-3 interceptor contract, per CNBC.
- Initial jobless claims fell 6,000 to 194,000 in the week ended 17 October, their lowest since mid-July, per the Labor Department.
Next session catalysts (ET)
- Fri 23 Oct, before the open: American Express (call 8:30am, consensus EPS $4.47), SLB ($0.62) and First Citizens BancShares ($46.61) report, per Stock Titan.
- Fri 23 Oct, 9:45am: S&P Global flash October manufacturing and services PMIs.
- Fri 23 Oct: final October University of Michigan consumer sentiment, per Jin10.
- Wed 28 Oct: the FOMC decision.
Context only, not financial advice. Track your own trades with Swingfolio.