Markets
Yiwen Lu

Stocks finish October with loss in first monthly decline since April

The S&P 500 slid 1.9% on Thursday, its worst daily loss since early September. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 2.4%. The Russell 2000 was down 1.6%. Major indexes all edged down this month, and the benchmark S&P 500 broke a five-month-long monthly winning streak.  

Stocks were sent lower by declines in megacaps amid busy earnings. All Magnificent 7 stocks slid. Microsoft was down 6% and Meta fell 4.1%; both delivered upbeat earnings, but Microsoft forecasted slower cloud-revenue growth, while Meta said that its capital expenditures would grow as it scales up AI investments. Amazon and Apple, which reported after the closing bell, slumped 3.4% and 2%, respectively, ahead of their releases. Nvidia, which won’t report until November, tanked 4.7%. 

Most other sectors retreated as well. However, the utilities sector ETF rose 1%, thanks to Entergy, which climbed 15.2% and hit an all-time high after earnings beat. 

In other individual stock moves, shares of Peloton climbed 27.8% on strong earnings and a new CEO. Roblox  jumped 19.9%, as results for both bookings and earnings per share beat expectations. Beauty conglomerate Estée Lauder lost a whopping 20.9%, its biggest one-day drop in history, after management slashed the dividend and withdrew their 2025 outlook. 

The 10-year Treasury yields had its biggest monthly gain in over two years to hit 4.28%. Gold retreated. Crude-oil futures settled higher on Thursday following reports that Iran may be planning an attack on Israel, finishing the month with gains.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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