Wall Street slid Tuesday as a hotter-than-expected October inflation report sent the 2-year Treasury yield up 17 basis points, its biggest one-day jump since April 2025, and pushed the 10-year yield back to the 5% mark. A further slide in Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) added to the pressure on technology stocks.
Consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, above the 0.3% forecast, after a 0.6% gain in September. Core inflation, which strips out food and energy, climbed 0.3% against expectations for 0.2%. The report followed comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, who said the Fed should raise rates in December even if inflation cooled and should consider a half-point hike if the picture worsened.
Fed funds futures moved to fully price a December rate hike, with more than 10% of bets on a half-point move, Reuters reported.
The S&P 500 fell 0.6% to 7,502, down 48 points.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 240 points, or 0.5%, to 52,150. Nvidia was the worst performer in the blue-chip index, sinking 5.8% to $168.37, on track for its lowest close since March 30. The Information reported that about $7.5 billion worth of Nvidia chips reached Chinese firms through a network tied to Alice Huang, the woman at the center of the probe into Chief Executive Jensen Huang. Bank of America also removed the stock from its US 1 list of top picks, while keeping a Buy rating.
The drop erased about $248 billion from Nvidia's market value. The stock now trades about 30% below its record close set in early October.
The Nasdaq 100 dropped 1.2% to 27,565. Within the Magnificent Seven, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) fell 2%, after briefly topping Nvidia's market value earlier in the session for the first time since June 2025, according to Reuters. The Russell 2000 fell 0.9% to 2,816.
Bonds sold off as rate-hike bets firmed.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose 11 basis points to 5%. The 2-year yield jumped 17 basis points to 4.74%, and the 30-year yield climbed 8 basis points to 5.36%.
Gold fell 1.9% to $4,036 an ounce and silver lost 2.6% to $51.31. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) dropped 2.6% to $73,319. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 1% to $86.01 a barrel, while Brent eased 1.2% to $91.45.
On the data front, the NFIB small business optimism index edged down to 97.8 in October from 97.9. The Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish year-over-year inflation rates, because the October 2025 government shutdown left no comparison base.
Tuesday's Performance in Major US Indices
According to market data:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) fell 0.6%.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) slipped 0.4%.
- The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) lost 1.1%.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) declined 0.9%.
Tech Leads Losses As Yields Climb, Gold Miners Sink
The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) fell 1.6%, the worst performer among the 11 S&P 500 sectors, as Nvidia's slide and higher yields hit richly valued growth stocks. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) lost 1.3%.
Value and defensive corners held up. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) rose 0.6%, the best-performing sector, followed by the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE), up 0.5%, and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP), up 0.3%. The other seven sectors ranged from flat to 0.4% lower.
Rate-sensitive industries took the hardest hits. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) fell 2.5% as the jump in Treasury yields threatened higher mortgage rates. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) sank 5.3% as bullion retreated.
Among the Russell 1000's top gainers, AAON Inc. (AAON) soared 21.8% after third-quarter net sales jumped 84.1% to a record $707.4 million and the HVAC maker lifted its full-year sales growth outlook to 72% to 75%. The company also restated its first- and second-quarter results and disclosed a material weakness in internal controls.
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) climbed 8.4% after launching tender offers of up to $1.5 billion for eight series of its notes. Quantinuum Inc. (QNT) gained 7.3% after the quantum computing company expanded its partnership with Japan's RIKEN to commercialize hybrid quantum-AI supercomputing.
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) rose 7% even though second-quarter net bookings of $1.60 billion fell short of guidance. Chief Executive Strauss Zelnick said Grand Theft Auto VI preorders were tracking "far in excess of our initial expectations," ahead of the game's Nov. 19 launch.
Affiliated Managers Group Inc. (AMG) added 5.6% after TD Cowen raised its price target to $583 from $523 and kept a Buy rating. The asset manager recently lifted its 2026 share-repurchase guidance to more than $900 million.
On the downside, Lineage Inc. (LINE) dropped 12.5% after the cold-storage operator cut its full-year guidance, citing fire-related power costs and trade headwinds. AST SpaceMobile Inc. (ASTS) slid nearly 12% after third-quarter revenue of $42.3 million missed estimates. B. Riley Securities cut its price target to $48 from $65.
IREN Ltd. (IREN) fell 9.6% as artificial intelligence infrastructure names retreated alongside Nvidia, a day after JPMorgan cut its price target to $55 from $65.
UWM Holdings Corp. (UWMC) lost 8.5% a day after the mortgage lender set a $2.00 subscription price for its rights offering of up to 200 million shares, with the rights expiring Nov. 12. On Holding AG (ONON) declined 8.2% after the Swiss sneaker maker kept its full-year sales outlook unchanged, even as third-quarter net sales rose about 18% at constant currency to a record 931 million Swiss francs.
Looking Ahead
After the close, CoreWeave Inc. (CRWV) reports third-quarter results, with analysts expecting a loss of $1.16 per share. Rigetti Computing Inc. (RGTI) is expected to post a loss of 5 cents per share.
Tuesday's Russell 1000 Top Gainers
Tuesday's Russell 1000 Top Losers
