After Market Brief — Friday October 30 2026

Tech Rout Drags Wall Street and TSX Sharply Lower

US and Canadian stocks closed sharply lower on Friday as a steep slide in technology led the Nasdaq down far more than the Dow, with the S&P 500 and the TSX also finishing deep in the red while the VIX jumped and Treasury yields fell in a classic risk-off pairing. The session’s biggest company story was ServiceNow’s 26.95% plunge, compounded by a 12.64% drop in Alphabet’s GOOGL shares, while Caterpillar and Baxter led industrials and healthcare lower. Gold and silver sold off hard alongside the rally in bonds, pointing to broad liquidation rather than a simple flight to safety, even as a handful of names including ADT and Gen Digital posted outsized gains. On the TSX, mining stocks tracked the metals slide while Brookfield-linked and consumer names held up better. With Monday bringing earnings from Apple and a long list of other tracked names, investors head into the new week watching whether the Nasdaq can stabilize or whether Friday’s technology-led selling extends further.

Market Close Summary

US and Canadian stocks closed sharply lower on Friday, led by a steep slide in technology. The S&P 500 finished at 7,580.07, down 1.83%, the Nasdaq dropped 2.87% to 25,437.00 and the Dow lost 1.09% to 51,770.31. The TSX fell 1.73% to 35,620.03, moving in the same direction as Wall Street. The VIX jumped 12.84% to 19.42, the clearest sign that investors were paying up for protection as the session wore on. Bonds caught a bid as equities sold off, with the US 10-year yield falling 6.0 basis points to 4.929%, a classic risk-off pairing. Gold and silver both fell hard, gold down 2.97% to 3,884.90 and silver off 4.29% to 49.13, an unusual move alongside the rally in bonds that points to broad liquidation rather than a simple flight to safety. Oil was mixed, with WTI easing 0.21% to 102.95 while Brent edged up 0.23% to 112.33, and the Canadian dollar firmed slightly, with USD/CAD down 0.10% to 1.3973. Bitcoin slid 1.39% to 76,704.15 and crypto sentiment stayed in Fear territory at 30, consistent with the cautious tone across equities. The heaviest damage in single names came in technology and industrials, covered in the movers section below.

By Athena and Atlas

Top Movers

Friday’s session produced some of the sharpest single-stock swings of the year, split clearly along sector lines. ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW) was the worst performer in the US, down 26.95% to 109.67, a decline that weighed on sentiment toward large-cap software alongside a 12.64% drop in Alphabet’s GOOGL shares to 283.82. Industrial names also lagged, with Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) falling 9.25% to 647.39 and Baxter International Inc. (BAX) down 7.70% to 23.50, while FTI slipped 6.23% to 66.95. On the other side of the ledger, the gains were just as dramatic: ADT surged 33.20% to 9.87 and Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) jumped 15.81% to 28.20, leading a group of outsized winners that also included Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH), up 13.45% to 18.22, Builders FirstSource, Inc. (BLDR), up 12.85% to 63.06, and FLS, up 11.89% to 80.35. The spread between the day’s biggest winners and losers, both measured in double digits, underscores how stock-specific the moves were even as the broader indexes fell in unison. ADT and FLS are both due to report earnings on Monday, which may have added to the activity in those names.

By Athena

Canadian Close

The TSX closed at 35,620.03, down 1.73%, a decline that tracked the broader pullback in US markets but was milder than the drop on the Nasdaq. The Canadian dollar held up on the day, with USD/CAD down 0.10% to 1.3973, even as equities sold off, a split that suggests the loonie found some support despite the weaker tone in stocks. Oil gave a mixed signal for Canadian energy exposure, with WTI slipping 0.21% to 102.95 while Brent rose 0.23% to 112.33. Mining names were the weak spot on the TSX: Kinross Gold Corporation (K.TO) fell 6.28% to 30.16, Skeena Resources Limited (SKE.TO) dropped 4.68% to 39.54, and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM.TO) lost 4.12% to 245.54, a pattern that lines up with the sharp declines in gold and silver seen across the broader market. Celestica Inc. (CLS.TO) also fell hard, down 5.81% to 396.12. Gains were more modest and concentrated among Brookfield-linked and consumer names: Brookfield Corporation (BN.TO) added 2.60% to 55.21, Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (BAM.TO) rose 2.46% to 67.93, GFL Environmental Inc. (GFL.TO) gained 3.33% to 62.94, Aritzia Inc. (ATZ.TO) rose 2.32% to 156.84, and Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (MFI.TO) added 2.16% to 27.00. Those gains stood apart from an otherwise defensive day for the index.

By Athena and Atlas

US Close

US stocks sold off sharply into the close, with the Nasdaq bearing the brunt of the decline at down 2.87% to 25,437.00, well ahead of the S&P 500’s 1.83% drop to 7,580.07 and the Dow’s 1.09% fall to 51,770.31. The gap between the Nasdaq and the Dow points to a session led down by technology and growth names rather than a broad-based retreat, a pattern confirmed by the scale of the declines in ServiceNow and Alphabet. The VIX jumped 12.84% to 19.42, its biggest move of the day, signaling that demand for downside protection built steadily as the session progressed. Treasuries rallied as stocks fell, pushing the 10-year yield down 6.0 basis points to 4.929%, consistent with investors rotating out of risk assets. Industrials also lagged, with Caterpillar among the day’s weakest large-cap names, while a handful of stocks, including ADT and Gen Digital, posted outsized gains that stood apart from the broader decline. The combination of a steep Nasdaq drop, a firmer VIX and lower yields points to a session where risk was reduced broadly but technology bore the heaviest selling.

By Athena

Tomorrow Watch List

• Monday November 02 earnings: AAPL, CDW, EL, ETR, FOXA, HSIC, KVUE, L, before the open; CE, CLX, CTVA, ES, FLS, IFF, MTCH, NCLH after the close: Watch the reaction into the open and after the close. Friday’s selloff hit technology and growth hard, and several of the names on Monday’s report list were already active in the tape. Strong results could help stabilize the tone; weak guidance would add to the risk-off move that showed up in the Nasdaq, VIX, and 10-year yield.
• Nasdaq: A move back above 25,500. The index led the decline on Friday, falling 2.87% to 25,437.00 as technology took the brunt of the selling. Reclaiming that area would show buyers are willing to step back in after a sharp de-risking session.
• S&P 500: Holding above 7,500. The S&P 500 closed at 7,580.07 after a broad risk-off day. Staying above 7,500 would suggest the pullback remains orderly rather than turning into a deeper unwind.
• Bitcoin: A break below 76,000. Bitcoin ended at 76,704.15 with crypto fear still at 30, matching the broader caution in risk assets. A break lower would reinforce the defensive tone across stocks and crypto at the start of the week.

By Summit

Herald Chief Publishing Officer Written by Herald, with Athena, Atlas and Summit After Market Brief · Friday, October 30, 2026 · Close and next-day setup