Oct 31, 2026
5 min read
In today's Bilig Daily brief, doubts over returns on artificial intelligence (AI) spending hit technology shares on Friday, handing the Nasdaq its worst month since March 2025 as chipmakers led the sell-off. A US appeals court rejected another federal bid to set aside California ballots days before the midterms, while Poland suspended the head of its top court and Fitch turned negative on France.
AI rout gives Nasdaq its worst month since March 2025
The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.86% to 25,437.00 on Friday, its biggest one-day drop since June, as results from Amazon, Alphabet and Intel deepened doubts about returns on AI spending. The index lost 2.0% over the week and 5.3% in October, its worst month since March 2025. A key semiconductor index fell 7.2%. Intel plunged 28.6%, its worst day since 1974, after a weak revenue forecast, and Nvidia lost 4.2%. "This week, not just today, has been very much about the future of AI," said Oliver Pursche of Wealthspire Advisors.
Week in markets: bonds rally as gold slumps
The S&P 500 fell 1.82% on Friday to 7,580.07, ending the week 0.6% lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.9% for the week. Investors bought bonds, pushing the 10-year Treasury yield down about 7 basis points over the week to 4.93%. The dollar index was flat at 101.96. Gold fell nearly 3% for the week to about $3,880 an ounce, while Brent crude gained 13.6% in October. Apple overtook Nvidia as the world's most valuable listed company.
Trump says Iran wants to talk as tanker attacked
President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Iran wanted to negotiate and predicted the conflict would end "very soon". The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Friday that a small boat had attached explosive devices to a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, starting an engine-room fire. Al-Monitor identified the vessel as the UAE-owned Louise-1 and said the crew was unharmed. US officials have told regional allies to prepare for possible renewed strikes after Tuesday's midterm elections, the AP has reported.
US appeals court rejects bid to set aside California ballots
A US appeals court on Friday rejected, for the second time in a week, a Justice Department request that California set aside mail ballots from about 20,000 people the Trump administration alleges are not citizens. A 9th Circuit panel ruled 2-1, saying it would not "contravene the Elections Clause" and citing concerns that eligible voters could be disenfranchised. Trump, who rallied in Florida on Friday, reversed earlier cancellations to campaign in Kansas and Iowa on Sunday, before the 3 November vote.
Poland suspends head of constitutional court
Poland's Constitutional Tribunal said on Friday that its president, Bogdan Swieczkowski, had been suspended, escalating a long dispute between the government and the nationalist opposition over the judiciary. Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek said he had sought to lift the immunity of Swieczkowski and his deputy for failing to perform their duties. Police detained three people after protesters outside the Warsaw court threw objects. President Karol Nawrocki, an ally of the opposition Law and Justice party, turned his plane back from a trip to Senegal.
G20 rifts deepen over Lavrov's presence in Atlanta
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged G20 foreign ministers meeting in Atlanta on Friday to protect "shared interests", as the attendance of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov exposed divisions over the war in Ukraine. The traditional group photograph was dropped from the schedule after some European officials said they would not appear with Lavrov, a Western diplomat said. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said there could be "no normalcy" with Russia while the war continued. The meeting ends on Saturday.
US approves $2.1 billion Patriot sale to Ukraine
The US State Department approved the possible sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 interceptor missiles and related equipment to Ukraine on Friday, at an estimated cost of $2.1 billion, Reuters reported. Ukraine will pay with contributions from Canada, Germany and Norway and national funds financed by a European Union loan. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said this week that Kyiv had waited almost a month for approval as Russia stepped up strikes on energy infrastructure.
Fitch turns negative on France as protests loom
Fitch Ratings affirmed France's credit rating at A+ on Friday but cut its outlook to negative from stable, citing fiscal strain and political fragmentation. The agency projected public debt rising to about 124% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2028, from 115.7% in 2025. Official data published on Friday showed the economy shrank 0.1% in the third quarter. About 70,000 police and gendarmes will be deployed for Saturday's protests over the cost of living, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.
China's factory activity slips back into contraction
China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 49.3 in October from 50.1 in September, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday. A reading below 50 signals contraction. New export orders fell to 48.7 from 50.0, and the production sub-index slipped to 49.8 from 51.7. It was the third contraction in four months. A long property downturn has weighed on domestic demand, pushing manufacturers to rely on exports as trading partners complain of growing deficits.
German inflation eases on fuel tax cut
German consumer prices rose 2.8% in October from a year earlier, down from 3.3% in September and below the 3.1% economists polled by Reuters had expected, preliminary data from the federal statistics office showed on Friday. A fuel tax cut of about 17 cents a litre, which took effect on 1 October, slowed energy inflation to 12.2% from 14.9%. Separate data showed Europe's largest economy grew 0.2% in the third quarter from the previous three months, ahead of forecasts of 0.1%.
Binance plans to restart withdrawals after record hack
Binance said on Friday it planned to resume withdrawals in phases "within approximately 34 hours, subject to the completion of security checks", after hackers stole about $6.3 billion from the cryptocurrency exchange. It said about $3 billion had been frozen and that it would cover all losses. Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs has linked the attack to North Korea's TraderTraitor group. Bitcoin fell 1.2% to about $77,080 on Friday.
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