Overview
- U.S. stocks logged their steepest drop in over a month Thursday, with the S&P 500 down 1.7%, the Dow off 1.7% and the Nasdaq 2.3%.
- Traders now price roughly a coin‑flip chance of a December rate cut, per CME FedWatch, after officials including Boston Fed’s Susan Collins stressed keeping policy steady.
- AI leaders led the pullback—Nvidia fell 3.6% as Super Micro, Palantir and Broadcom dropped sharply—and futures pointed lower again Friday as the VIX ticked higher.
- The White House said October CPI and parts of the jobs report may never be released after the shutdown, leaving the Fed with impaired data into its next meeting.
- Risk assets weakened broadly—Bitcoin slid below $100,000 to near $96,000, oil rose about 2% on Russian supply risks, and overseas equities fell, though Indian benchmarks reversed early losses to close slightly higher as Bihar results firmed.