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MARKET BRIEFING · US

Far more stocks rose than fell, yet the indexes closed lower, because one stock did the dragging.

October 29, 2026 · Read the Korean original

Major indices

  • Dow 52,342.56 -0.25%
  • S&P 500 7,720.39 -0.30%
  • Nasdaq 26,184.72 -1.38%

September PCE inflation rose 0.5% from the prior month, pushing the annual rate back up to 3.6%. Core PCE matched expectations at 0.3%, but the same morning brought third-quarter GDP growth of 3.4% annualized against a 3.2% forecast and weekly jobless claims down to 194,000, painting a picture of strong prices and strong growth at once. Coming a day after the Federal Reserve held rates in a 10-2 vote in which both dissents argued for a hike, the market read the combination as leaving a December increase on the table. The 10-year Treasury yield hovered around the 5% line (reported levels ranged from 4.94% to 5.04%, leaving the direction unclear), and the dollar firmed slightly as the euro slid to a 17-month low after the European Central Bank stood pat. Bitcoin gave up the $80,000 line (Invezz, FXStreet, Motley Fool).

The indexes hid more than they showed. The Dow and the S&P 500 slipped less than 0.3%, while the Nasdaq fell 1.38% and broke a three-day advance. What dragged the market was not broad weakness but a single stock. Four of every five S&P 500 members rose and advancers outnumbered decliners by nearly two to one on the NYSE, yet the index still closed lower, with money rotating into health care, real estate and consumer staples (AP, CNBC).

Alphabet (GOOGL, search & cloud) sank 12.64% for its worst day on record, erasing $500 billion of market value in a session, after third-quarter revenue and earnings per share missed and rising capital spending turned free cash flow negative (NBC). As the question of when AI spending turns into returns spread again, Microsoft (MSFT, cloud & software) ended lower despite 48% Azure growth as its plan to raise $25 billion in bonds took the focus, and Nebius (NBIS, neocloud AI cloud) and CoreWeave (CRWV, neocloud GPU cloud) fell as investors read Microsoft's lighter-than-expected capex as a sign of delayed third-party data-center deliveries. Memory reversed within a day: Samsung Electronics' third-quarter profit fell short of hopes, cooling the previous session's memory rally and sending Micron (MU, DRAM & HBM memory) and Sandisk (SNDK, NAND flash memory) down about 5%. Earnings held up the other side. Eli Lilly (LLY, pharma for obesity drugs) climbed on 39% revenue growth and a raised full-year sales outlook, lifting health care to a record high, while Marvell Technology (MRVL, data-center chips) fell more than 12% on reports it is in talks to buy Lumentum (LITE, optical networking components).

Earnings after the bell weighed further on the mood. Amazon (AMZN, e-commerce & cloud) grew AWS revenue 39%, its fastest in five years, but fell about 5% in extended trading as a widening free-cash-flow deficit from heavy capital spending drew attention, and Intel (INTC, CPUs & foundry) dropped more than 16% as soft fourth-quarter guidance overshadowed a third-quarter beat (Investing.com, Reuters). Korean trading today has to digest all of this. Semiconductors may face near-term pressure, since the US memory names that rallied on SK Hynix a day earlier gave it back after Samsung's results. Bio is the place to watch whether the health-care record set by Eli Lilly's results carries over. Power infrastructure may split by name: big-tech capital spending itself is not shrinking, but the debate over returns on it has grown louder.

Confirmed facts here are the September PCE and third-quarter growth figures, Alphabet's decline and results, Eli Lilly's raised outlook, and the post-close numbers from Amazon and Intel. Tying yields to December hike expectations, and judging how far the AI spending debate spreads across sectors, are the market's readings and worth checking again during the session.

Korean industries to watch today

  • Semiconductors · US memory names gave back the prior day's gains after Samsung's results disappointed.
  • Bio & healthcare · Eli Lilly's strong results pushed the US health-care sector to a record high.
  • Power infrastructure · Big-tech capital spending is not shrinking, but the debate over its returns grew louder.

Watchlist stocks in the news

  • Alphabet (GOOGL) Close -12.64% · Worst day on record after third-quarter revenue and EPS missed and heavy capex turned free cash flow negative. (NBC News)
  • Microsoft (MSFT) · Slipped as a planned $25 billion bond sale and lighter-than-expected capex drew focus despite 48% Azure growth. (Invezz)
  • Micron (MU) · Fell about 5% as Samsung's third-quarter profit miss cooled the previous session's memory rally. (24/7 Wall St.)
  • Sandisk (SNDK) · Dropped in the same memory pullback, with its own post-close earnings report adding to the caution. (24/7 Wall St.)
  • Western Digital (WDC) · Slid with the memory and storage group as Samsung's earnings disappointment spread. (24/7 Wall St.)
  • Marvell Technology (MRVL) · Fell more than 12% on reports it is in talks to acquire Lumentum, raising concerns about the deal's cost. (TradingKey)
  • Nebius (NBIS) · Fell as investors read Microsoft's capex shortfall as a sign of delayed third-party data-center deliveries. (Invezz)
  • CoreWeave (CRWV) · Dropped on the same capex-delay worry, compounded by caution over its AI borrowing costs. (Invezz)
  • IREN (IREN) · Declined as the neocloud group sold off together. (Invezz)
  • Oracle (ORCL) · Fell with AI cloud names after big-tech capital spending came in lighter than expected. (Yahoo Finance)
  • Eli Lilly (LLY) · Rose toward its 52-week high after 39% revenue growth and a raised full-year sales outlook. (CNBC)
  • LITE (LITE) · Jumped on reports that Marvell Technology is in talks to acquire it. (TradingKey)
  • CAT (CAT) · Slid more than 7% even though both earnings and revenue beat estimates. (CNBC)

Sources (Korean-language)

This market briefing was compiled by AI from this site's own price and filing data together with public news reports, and translated from the Korean original. Please check the sources below before relying on it.

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