Tech Selloff Pulls Nasdaq Down 2.6% as Oil Reaches Five-Month High

The S&P 500 fell 1.2% on October 22, 2026, its worst day since July, as technology shares led a broad decline. The Nasdaq Composite tumbled 2.6%, according to The Guardian. The S&P 500 closed at 7,663.43, down 93.74 points, MarketWatch reported. Most US stocks still rose, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 11 points, or less than 0.1%.

The chip and artificial intelligence (AI) sector accounted for much of the damage. Lam Research shares fell 11.8% after the chip equipment maker reported summer profit and revenue slightly above analyst expectations. Nvidia dropped 4.4%, and CoreWeave, which provides cloud computing for AI work, fell 10.1%. Semiconductor stocks reversed gains from the previous session.

Shares of Meta Platforms fell 7% after the company reported quarterly revenue that beat forecasts but profit that fell short. Meta also said it was creating a new class of stock to raise money for AI investments and other expenses. Tesla shares slid 3.1% after it reported stronger-than-expected profit but weaker-than-forecast revenue.

Markets in Asia and Europe also declined. South Korea's Kospi fell 3.5%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 3%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 sank 2.7%. In Paris, the CAC 40 fell 1.4%.

Oil moved in the opposite direction. Brent crude rose 4% to $113.17 a barrel, its highest settlement since May 4, according to MarketWatch. Brent was still 4.4% below the year's closing high of $118.35. Prices had been below $97 at the start of October. Traders have been weighing uncertainty over the war with Iran, and Reuters reported that Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia raised concerns of further disruption. Shares in American Airlines dropped almost 4% in pre-market trading.

The current moves come after a volatile stretch. Oil peaked at $126 a barrel in April 2026 during the conflict, fell below $100 in late May, and dropped to a low of $71 at the start of July. Technology stocks had rebounded on October 19, a week ahead of a heavy schedule of AI-related earnings, after a slide on October 16 tied to a jump in oil prices. As of October 15, the S&P 500 was up about 13% for 2026, with most of that gain driven by AI-related stocks.