OCTOBER SPLIT THE MARKET IN TWO: NASDAQ DOWN 5.3%, DOW UP 1.7%

October just split the world's stock markets in two. Tech-heavy indexes bled red while the blue chips held green — and if you only watched one exchange, you missed half the story.

The Nasdaq Composite finished October at 25,437, down 5.3% on the month. The Dow Jones closed at 51,770, up 1.7%. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 5.2% to 63,290, while London's FTSE 100 rose 1.2% to 10,730.

The split tells the story of the month: investors finally balked at the eye-watering price tag of the AI boom, punishing the tech and semiconductor names that had carried the market, while dividend-heavy blue chips held their ground.

The Nasdaq suffered its worst month since March 2025, with its worst single day since June, as disappointing tech earnings and concerns over massive AI spending collided with higher inflation and the uncertainty of the midterm elections.

November opens with the same question hanging over every index: whether the AI build-out is a bubble about to pop, or a boom that is simply taking a breather.