Midday Mashup
The morning's AI-capex-versus-defensive-earnings split has turned into a rout by midday, with Intel now down 30.7% and Reddit off 30.1%, both marking record one-day declines as the technology selloff that began with Intel's warning on an accelerating PC correction has spread across chipmakers and growth names. Sandisk falls 14.9%, Coinbase drops 13.8% and Astera Labs is down 13.2%, while the VIX has jumped 27.2% as volatility spikes alongside the flight from growth.
Earnings have offered pockets of resilience. Regeneron rises 11.2% after a large EPS beat, a raised full-year outlook and an expanded Sanofi antibody collaboration carrying a $1bn upfront payment. FedEx Freight gains 16.3% and Global Payments climbs 10.3%, reinforcing the defensive, guidance-raising side of the earnings split that has held up even as mega-cap tech slides.
The Strait of Hormuz situation has escalated through the session. Oman evacuated 25 crew from a vessel struck near Musandam, Iran's Fars agency claims a supertanker hit a mine in the strait, and reports describe a broad US military buildup, two aircraft carriers, roughly a dozen destroyers, dozens of refueling aircraft and additional Patriot batteries moving into Israel, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Russia's Novak confirmed Ukrainian strikes on a refinery have resumed and said Moscow will extend its diesel export ban through January, adding to the diesel "crunch point" Exxon's CEO flagged earlier.
Fed commentary has turned more hawkish into the afternoon. Dallas Fed's Logan said at least two more 25 basis point hikes are needed, while Richmond's Barkin noted AI-driven investment is adding demand-side inflationary pressure that the Fed can lean against. Treasury yields had eased after a Q3 Employment Cost Index in line with expectations, but the hawkish Fed tone complicates the rate picture alongside Friday's weak Chicago PMI.
Elsewhere, gold has fallen to its lowest since November 2025 and silver has extended losses sharply, Amazon is reported to be tapping an $80bn supplier loan facility to help fund AI spending, and the Binance hack investigation has drawn in the FBI and Secret Service as the exchange says the breach hit its own hot wallet.
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