Nasdaq Composite falls 2.6 per cent as investors question spending on artificial intelligence

23 October 2026

The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite index fell 2.6 per cent, its steepest drop since 5 June, and now stands about 5.8 per cent below its record high of 6 October. The S&P 500 dropped 1.2 per cent, its largest decline since 29 July. Shares of Meta fell nearly 7 per cent after the company raised its 2026 capital spending forecast to 135 to 145 billion dollars and posted profit below expectations. Amazon fell 4.6 per cent, Nvidia 4.4 per cent, Tesla and Alphabet 3.1 per cent each, and Microsoft 2.2 per cent, while Apple rose 1.2 per cent. Brent crude rose 4 per cent and passed 114.20 dollars a barrel, its highest since May. Gartner forecasts global artificial intelligence investment of 2.7 trillion dollars in 2026 and 3.6 trillion dollars in 2027.