U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, October 22, as renewed doubts about the cost and payoff of artificial-intelligence investment helped push the Nasdaq down 2.6%, its biggest daily percentage drop since early June, while oil rose and Treasury yields fell.
The Nasdaq closed at 26,008.86. The S&P 500 fell 1.2% to finish at 7,663.43. The Dow edged up 0.02% to 52,867.98.
Investors focused on Meta’s results and plans to spend more on AI. Meta beat revenue expectations, but its shares fell about 7% as its spending commitments and proposed issue of non-voting shares drew scrutiny. Semiconductor stocks also fell sharply, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down 6.7%.
Tesla shares fell 3.1% after its earnings report. The drop reflected concern that huge spending on data centers, chips and other AI infrastructure may take time to pay off. The investments may also depend on continued access to financing.
Meanwhile, Brent crude reached a five-month high after attacks on Saudi targets increased concerns about energy supplies and inflation. As stocks fell, investors sought the relative safety of U.S. government bonds. This pushed the 10-year Treasury yield down nearly 0.2 percentage point to 4.953%.
The Nasdaq’s steep fall and the Dow’s slight gain showed that the day’s selling was concentrated in technology and AI-related shares.