Oct 30, 2026
5 min read
Fears over the cost of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom drove Alphabet to its worst day as a listed company and dragged Asian chip stocks lower on Friday. Binance said hackers stole about $6.3 billion in the largest crypto theft on record, while the European Central Bank (ECB) held rates as its president announced an early exit.
Alphabet suffers worst day as AI fears hit Wall Street
Alphabet's Class A shares fell 12.6% to $283.82 on Thursday, the company's steepest one-day decline since it began trading, after its third-quarter results showed slowing search advertising growth and negative free cash flow. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.38% to 26,184.72, the S&P 500 lost 0.30% to 7,720.39 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.25% to 52,342.56. The 10-year US Treasury yield fell 7 basis points to 4.98%. Brent crude settled at $114.88 a barrel.
Amazon and Intel slide after results
Amazon shares fell as much as 7% in extended trading on Thursday, after closing 4.3% lower, as third-quarter capital spending of $77.26 billion came in about $20 billion above estimates. Its Amazon Web Services cloud unit grew 39% to $46 billion. Chief Executive Andy Jassy said 2027 spending would be "meaningfully more" than this year. Intel shares dropped more than 20% after hours after it forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion, below the roughly $17 billion analysts expected. The company blamed high memory prices.
Kospi tumbles as AI selloff reaches Asia
South Korea's Kospi index closed down 3.48% at 5,730.74 on Friday after falling nearly 5% in the morning, prompting the Korea Exchange to trigger a "sidecar" that briefly halted program selling. Chipmaker SK Hynix fell 7.08% and Samsung Electronics lost 3.02%, according to exchange data reported by The Korea Times. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 2.12% to 63,289.89, with SoftBank Group down 5.96%. Investors cited overnight losses in US technology shares and renewed doubts about returns on AI investment.
Binance says $6.3 billion stolen in record crypto heist
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, said on Thursday that about $6.3 billion had been stolen and suspended deposits and withdrawals. The exchange said about $3 billion had been frozen, including nearly $1.57 billion by stablecoin issuer Tether. Initial findings point to a compromised engineer's laptop, Binance said. Blockchain analytics firm TRM said it assessed "with high confidence" that North Korea's TraderTraitor unit was responsible. Co-founder Yi He said Binance would cover all losses. Bitcoin fell about 2% to a six-week low near $77,600.
ECB holds rates as Lagarde announces early exit
The ECB kept its deposit rate at 2.5% on Thursday and warned that financing conditions had tightened since its previous meeting. President Christine Lagarde said she would step down on 7 February 2027, about nine months before her term ends. She told reporters she wanted more freedom to speak and could not "remain neutral" on events in France and the world. European Council President António Costa said the search for a successor would start immediately.
Iran claims tankers hit mines in Hormuz
Iran's armed forces said on Thursday that four tankers caught fire after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz, three of them on what it called an unauthorised route. The Associated Press (AP) could not confirm the claims. US Central Command said the main transit routes had been cleared of mines. Diplomats told the AP that US officials had told regional countries to prepare for possible renewed military action against Iran after next week's midterm elections. The Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump was briefed on military options.
Russian drone strike kills 14 at Dnipro station
A Russian drone strike on a railway platform in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro killed at least 14 people on Thursday, regional governor Oleksandr Ganzha said. National police said at least 10 others were wounded. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the attack "horrific" and said a commuter train and a passenger train had been standing at the platform. French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the strike. Separate attacks killed two 15-year-old girls in Chernihiv and three people in Kremenchuk, local officials said.
US economy grows faster than expected
The US economy grew at an annualised rate of 3.4% in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said on Thursday, above the 3.1% economists had expected and up from 2.2% in the second quarter. Consumer spending and investment drove growth. The data came a day after the Federal Reserve held rates, with consumer prices up 3.7% in September from a year earlier, according to official figures. Markets priced in about an 85% chance of a December rate rise, ABC News reported.
Bank of Japan holds, says inflation goal met
The Bank of Japan kept its policy rate at 1.25% on Friday in an 8-1 vote and judged underlying inflation to be broadly in line with its 2% target, the first such assessment since the goal was set in 2013. Board member Hajime Takata dissented, proposing a rise to 1.5%. The bank raised its core inflation forecast for next fiscal year to 2.7% and said it would sell exchange-traded funds faster. The dollar eased to 157.12 yen from 157.79.
Israel's final count confirms hung parliament
Israel's Central Elections Committee said with all votes counted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc had won 53 of the Knesset's 120 seats, the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot 48 and Arab parties a record 19. Turnout was 77.9%, the highest in decades. Netanyahu has alleged that foreign interference "stole" the election, which the committee rejected. President Isaac Herzog will receive the official results next week before consulting party leaders. The new Knesset is due to be sworn in on 10 November.
Volkswagen posts deepest loss since diesel scandal
Volkswagen reported a third-quarter net loss of €5.82 billion on Thursday, its deepest since the 2015 emissions scandal, after a €6.4 billion goodwill impairment at its Porsche unit. Deliveries fell 14.3% to 1.89 million vehicles, with sales in China down 38.5%. Europe's largest carmaker cut its 2026 operating margin forecast to no more than 1% of revenue, from 4% to 5.5% previously. The company cited weak demand in China and price pressure.
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