Nasdaq Suffers Steepest Drop Since June as AI Spending Fears Hammer Tech Stocks

US technology stocks suffered a broad and sharp selloff on Thursday October 23, 2026, as questions over the sustainability of sky-high artificial-intelligence spending rattled investors. The Nasdaq Composite tumbled 2.6%, its steepest single-day fall since June 5, leaving the index 5.8% below its all-time high reached on October 6. The S&P 500 declined 1.2%. The catalyst was Meta's latest earnings report, in which the company raised its projected capital expenditure for the year to between $135 billion and $145 billion, even as net profit fell short of expectations. Meta's shares dropped nearly 7%. The selloff spread across the technology sector: Intel and Advanced Micro Devices each shed about 8%; Amazon fell 4.6%; Nvidia dropped 4.4%; Broadcom lost 4.3%; Tesla and Alphabet each declined 3.1%; and Microsoft fell 2.2%. Apple bucked the trend, rising 1.2%. Oil prices surged simultaneously, with Brent crude rising 4% to above $114.20 a barrel, adding to cost concerns. In Asian trading on October 24, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 0.3% lower, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.7%. Global AI investment is projected by Gartner to reach $2.7 trillion in 2026 and $3.6 trillion in 2027, but investors are increasingly asking when those outlays will generate returns.