Nasdaq Falls 2.9% to Three-Month Low on Fed Hike Fears and AI Doubts
Written by AI from riotimesonline.com's report. Not checked by a person.
The Nasdaq dropped 2.86% on Friday, 30 October, closing at its lowest level in at least three months as investors questioned whether vast AI spending will pay off and the Federal Reserve signalled a possible December rate rise.
The Nasdaq closed at 25,437 on Friday, 30 October 2026, down 2.86% on the session — its lowest close in at least three months and 7.8% below its peak on 6 October. Doubts over whether enormous artificial-intelligence spending will ever pay off drove the decline in technology shares.
The Federal Reserve had held its benchmark rate at 3.75–4.00% on 28 October, but the decision masked a hawkish shift: two members, Cook and Hammack, dissented in favour of a quarter-point rise at the 8–9 December meeting. Prediction markets moved quickly to reflect that shift, with Polymarket pricing a December hike at 69.5% and no change at 27.5%, based on US$10.3 million traded on 1 November.
Higher rate expectations hit precious metals hard. Gold fell 3.31% to $3,875 an ounce and silver slid 5.53% to $49.07 — a sharp reversal for assets usually sought in times of stress, since a Fed inclined to raise rates makes non-yielding metals less attractive.
China added to the sombre mood. The country's S&P Global manufacturing PMI came in at 49.7 for October, the first reading below the 50-point expansion threshold in months, well under the 51.6 analysts had forecast and down from 52.1 in September. Oil held near US$100 a barrel on tanker attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, the US 10-year Treasury yield sat at 4.934%, and the dollar index stood at 101.879.
