INTEL AND AMAZON RESULTS SEND US TECH SHARES LOWER

US technology shares fell on Friday after earnings updates from Intel and Amazon unsettled investors. The Nasdaq Composite opened down between 2.2% and 2.5%, at its lowest level in more than two months. Intel shares fell more than 28% at the open and declined by as much as 30% in early trading. Amazon shares dropped as much as 6% before recovering some ground. The falls followed a loss of about $500bn in Alphabet’s market value on Thursday after Google’s owner said its AI summaries were affecting search advertising revenue.

Intel forecast fourth-quarter revenue below expectations and said it did not expect positive cash flow this year. David Zinsner said: “Looking ahead, we see the PC slowdown continuing at least through the first half of next year.” Intel said it had increased spending on equipment in the third quarter and expected a larger increase in the following three months. Amazon reported sales below expectations and gave a weak outlook for its retail operation. Microsoft and Nvidia shares fell 1.9% and 3.5% respectively, while Reddit and Roblox also declined.

Asian markets also fell, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 2.1% and South Korea’s main share index down 3.4%. Fujitsu shares lost 16.2%, while Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell 3% and 1.5% respectively. In Europe, the FTSE 100 rose 0.3% in early trading, while Amsterdam-listed ASML fell 5.7%. Saxo strategist Neil Wilson called the FTSE 100 an “island of tranquillity” amid the losses in technology shares.