U.S. Indexes tumbled on Friday in a tech-led sell-off, which saw the Nasdaq 100 briefly enter correction territory following a slew of woeful tech earnings and updates. Intel (INTC) slumped following weak results, disappointing next-quarter guidance and cautious commentary on the PC market, weighing on broader PC names. Meanwhile, SanDisk’s (SNDK) earnings pressured the memory sector, while Amazon (AMZN) shares initially slid following a weak quarter and disappointing FCF, although they managed to claw back much of their losses. AI concerns also mounted after Blackstone told Anthropic that it may not receive an investment-grade credit rating, according to the FT. The majority of sectors were hit, particularly Tech, which dropped over 4%, while Industrials, Communication Services and Consumer Discretionary also lagged amid the AI and mega-cap stock rout. Energy stocks outperformed alongside Consumer Staples, Utilities, Health Care and Real Estate, with higher crude prices supporting Energy, while the defensive nature of the other sectors helped them hold up in the risk-off trade. The VIX peaked just shy of 24, but as stocks moved off their lows in the final hour of trade, it retreated below 20. Crude prices rallied ahead of this week’s midterms, with attention on whether US President Trump will opt to attack Iran following the election results. Crude moved off its highs amid several reports of Qatari mediators working to facilitate a deal between the US and Iran, with some reports suggesting progress had been made. Meanwhile, a Pakistani military spokesman expressed cautious optimism regarding US-Iran mediation. The Treasury yield curve saw further steepening, with long-end yields rising while front-end yields declined, supported by a flight-to-quality bid, continuing the trend seen since Wednesday’s FOMC amid the lack of explicit forward guidance. Fed speak leaned hawkish, with Logan, Musalem and Barkin all signalling the need for further tightening. FX price action was much more contained than in other asset classes. The Canadian Dollar outperformed amid higher crude prices, with the EU and Canada also announcing a new alliance. The Japanese Yen saw some strength overnight following the Bank of Japan decision, which kept rates on hold as expected, with one hawkish dissenter, while Governor Ueda left the door open to a December rate hike. Crypto assets and crypto-linked stocks plunged following reports of a Binance hack involving USD 6.3 billion in digital assets. Gold and silver prices also fell to fresh Year-To-Date lows. Attention this week turns to the US midterm elections, with betting markets pricing a Democratic sweep at around 70%. The Treasury’s Quarterly Refunding Announcement is also due before attention shifts to the October NFP report, while Apple (AAPL), AMD (AMD) and Qualcomm (QCOM) earnings will also be in the limelight. Fed Member Logan said the Fed needs at least two more 25 basis points rate hikes, arguing that inflation is not on a path back to the 2% target and that this is unacceptable. She favours a gradual approach to tightening, noting that skipping a meeting would not change the ultimate policy destination and would allow households, businesses and investors to adjust to higher rates while reducing the risk of a sharp economic slowdown. Logan suggested that a pause after 50bps of additional tightening would be appropriate to assess whether further action is needed. On the economy, she highlighted strong growth and solid consumer spending, with accommodative financial conditions continuing to provide support. She added that while longer-term yields have risen, they are not restraining activity as much as might be expected, with higher market rates signalling that investors believe the Fed still has more work to do on inflation. Meanwhile, Fed Member Barkin said the direction of travel for monetary policy is straightforward, but the question is the pace. On inflation, he noted that US businesses are facing significant cost pressures, which they report are broad-based, and that they are planning to pass these increased costs on to customers, adding that years of elevated inflation have made it easier for firms to justify raising prices. He said the surge in AI investment has put pressure on supply chains, adding to inflationary pressures, and argued that this is driving demand-side inflation, which the Fed can lean against. On the economy, Barkin said the resilience of consumer spending has been surprising given relatively flat incomes, while business owners report that demand remains solid, with weakness limited to non-profits and the housing sector. Elsewhere, Oil closed higher by 2.08% while Gold was slammed ending Friday’s session with a loss of 3.65%.
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For anyone following my Platinum Service it lost 1068 points on Friday, closing October with a gain of 3975 points after ending September with a nice gain of 7767 points, after ending the month of August with a gain of 2645 points after closing July with a gain of 8031 points, after ending June with a new record of 10527 points after ending May with a loss of 1104 points, having ended April with a gain of 1730 points, after ending March with a massive gain of 9002 points, having closed February with a strong gain of 5482 points after ending January with a gain of 4757 points, having closed December with a gain of 2599 points, after ending the month of November with a gain of 4542 points, after ending October with a nice gain of 5110 points after closing September with a gain of 3774 points while ending August with a gain of 3362 points after closing July with a gain of 3753 points after closing June with a gain of 3530 points, having closed May with a gain of 3606 points, after closing April with a gain of 7685 points after closing March with a gain of 2254 points while closing February with a gain of 4180 points. January ended with a gain of 2768 points while 1997 points were gained in December. October ended with a gain of 2179 points, after closing September with a gain of 4402 points, following a loss of 301 points in August. July gained 1908 points while June saw a gain of 2074 points. The Platinum Service made a previous record 9619 points in October 2022. Since I started this New Platinum Service in June 2015 it has averaged a monthly gain of over 2300 points. I have a YouTube Channel which contains recent interviews I have given This can be viewed by clicking HERE Please subscribe to this for new interview notification
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