U.S. stocks split sharply on Nov. 2 as a selloff in large technology, semiconductor and energy shares pulled the Nasdaq Composite down 1.07%, while economically sensitive sectors including financials, materials and consumer discretionary stocks advanced. The session placed crypto-linked equities under fresh pressure as Bitcoin fell 1.98% and recent ETF redemption data pointed to weakening institutional demand.
The Nasdaq finished at 25,164.36, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 3.37% to 10,328.33. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.41% to 51,983.98, and the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, which reduces the influence of megacap technology companies, rose 0.77%.
The divergent moves suggest the session was driven less by indiscriminate selling than by a rapid reassessment of companies tied to AI spending, chip demand and energy prices. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund fell 2.95%, compared with gains of 2.41% for the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund, 1.86% for the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund and 1.76% for the Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund.
Marvell-Lumentum deal rattles chip shares
Marvell Technology and Lumentum Holdings were among the session's largest decliners after Marvell announced an all-stock acquisition of Lumentum valued at $115 billion. Marvell closed down 12.72% at $171.41, while Lumentum fell 18.59% to $684.40.
The scale of the proposed transaction places it among the market's largest technology deals and arrives while investors are closely scrutinizing the capital required to build AI infrastructure. Both companies have exposure to high-speed optical networking and data-center demand, areas that have become central to the AI trade.
Oracle also faced a sharp decline after saying it planned to raise $20 billion through equity and debt financing to support AI infrastructure expansion. The plan includes $10 billion in stock issuance. Oracle shares fell 8.76% to $119.22, reflecting concern that the race to provide computing capacity could demand more external financing and potentially dilute existing shareholders.
Intel extended a steep recent retreat, closing down 8.80% at $59.97. The stock had declined 29% on Oct. 30 and was down 34.86% from its Oct. 29 close of $92.07, based on the supplied session data.
Memory-related stocks also weakened after Kioxia issued a cautious outlook. Micron Technology fell 5.78% to $833.59, Western Digital dropped 7.52% to $338.59, and Sandisk declined 6.59% to $1,075.08. Advanced Micro Devices slid 7.52% to $466.84 ahead of its Nov. 3 after-hours earnings release. The consensus estimate cited for AMD was earnings per share of $1.68.
Several other large technology names ended lower. Microsoft dropped 2.83% to $507.12, Apple lost 1.83% to $338.32, and Nvidia declined 1.26% to $202.06.
Oil decline adds to pressure on energy shares
Energy stocks fell after crude prices dropped on renewed expectations surrounding potential U.S.-Iran talks. West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $96.33 a barrel, down 7.5%, while Brent settled at $104.35, down 7.6%.
The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund fell 3.96%. Lower oil prices can reduce expected revenue for producers and drillers, though the speed of the move also reflected how geopolitical assumptions were being repriced during the session.
Consumer and defensive names moved in the opposite direction. Walmart gained 3.38% to $127.69, Costco rose 2.79% to $1,040.55, and Amazon added 2.20% to $245.63. The gains in retail and consumer-facing companies coincided with the decline in high-multiple technology stocks, whose valuations are generally more sensitive to higher borrowing costs and changing expectations for future earnings.
Market volatility also increased. The Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, was listed at 21.15, up 8.91% for the session. That level remains well below the extreme readings seen during major market disruptions, but it indicates a more expensive market for hedging equity exposure.
Crypto equities follow risk assets lower
Crypto-linked shares joined the technology-led retreat. Coinbase Global fell 3.98% to $137.83, Robinhood Markets lost 1.35% to $83.84, and Galaxy Digital dropped 8.81% to $14.59.
Coinbase was trading close to its reported 52-week low of $135.47. Its cited 52-week high was $342.80, leaving the shares 59.8% below that peak. The decline shows how public companies tied to trading volumes, token prices and risk appetite can remain more volatile than Bitcoin itself during periods of equity-market stress.
Bitcoin was reported down 1.98% on the day, while major U.S.-listed Bitcoin ETF products changed only modestly. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust, trading under IBIT, fell 0.02% to $43.35. Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund was down 0.17% at $66.60, while Grayscale Bitcoin Trust slipped 0.05% to $59.09. BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust gained 0.64% to $50.74.
Fund-flow data showed a more pronounced shift. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of $643 million on Oct. 30, described in the supplied data as the largest single-day withdrawal since June 25. U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs saw $432 million in net outflows the same day, extending their withdrawal streak to 11 sessions.
ETF flows do not determine Bitcoin's price on their own, but sustained redemptions can remove a major channel of spot-market demand. The recent figures also arrive as crypto treasury companies face scrutiny over whether their shares trade at premiums or discounts to the value of the tokens they hold.
Strategy adds Bitcoin despite market weakness
Strategy disclosed that it acquired 811 BTC between Oct. 26 and Nov. 1 for $65.5 million, or an average of $80,846 per Bitcoin including fees. The purchases were funded with proceeds from its at-the-market common-stock program, the company said.
As of Nov. 1, Strategy held 849,327 BTC acquired for $64.08 billion, at an average purchase price of $75,451 per coin. At Bitcoin's cited Nov. 2 price of $76,686.31, those holdings were worth about $65.13 billion, implying an unrealized gain of roughly 1.6% over the acquisition cost.
Strategy said it sold 1,178,552 common shares during the period, raising $164 million in net proceeds. Of that sum, $65.5 million went toward Bitcoin purchases and $98.5 million was allocated to U.S. dollar cash. The company reported $4.79 billion in its USD reserve and a separate USD cash balance of $132.7 million.
Strive disclosed a purchase of 124 BTC for $10 million, bringing its reported Bitcoin holdings to 43,124 BTC. Bitmine said it added 8,573 ETH and held 6.06 million ETH, which it described as 4.9% of Ethereum's supply.
Economic data offered mixed signals for markets heading into the Nov. 6 jobs report. The Institute for Supply Management's October manufacturing PMI registered 55.5, above the 54.5 consensus estimate cited in the report. Construction spending fell 1.9%, against expectations for a 0.4% increase. With technology valuations, fund flows and rate expectations all under pressure, Friday's employment figures will provide the next major test for risk-sensitive assets.
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