Stocks had their worst day in 18 months — here's what that means for your portfolio
Published . Updated .
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Thursday's stock sell-off was mostly an AI story: Chip stocks crashed, while the typical stock in the S&P 500 is barely off its high.
Directly affected
- No company is named in this report.
Indirectly affected
- SMH VanEck Semiconductor ETF-16.4% 30d
VanEck Semiconductor ETF: it holds chipmakers. Linked by “chip” (semiconductors) in this story.
- SOXX iShares Semiconductor ETF-20.8% 30d
iShares Semiconductor ETF: it holds chipmakers. Linked by “chip” (semiconductors) in this story.
- QQQ Invesco QQQ-9.8% 30d
Invesco QQQ: it holds the big tech and AI names. Linked by “ai” (AI and big tech) in this story.
- MSFT Microsoft+11.8% 30d
Microsoft (prepackaged software): big tech's AI spending and demand drive its shares. Linked by “ai” (AI and big tech) in this story.
- GOOGL Alphabet-15.6% 30d
Alphabet (computer programming, data processing, etc.): big tech's AI spending and demand drive its shares. Linked by “ai” (AI and big tech) in this story.
- AMZN Amazon.com+6.7% 30d
Amazon.com (catalog and mail-order houses): big tech's AI spending and demand drive its shares. Linked by “ai” (AI and big tech) in this story.
- AVGO Broadcom-7.1% 30d
Broadcom (semiconductors and related devices): chip demand, export rules and supply drive chipmakers' shares. Linked by “chip” (semiconductors) in this story.
- META Meta Platforms-19.0% 30d
Meta Platforms (computer programming, data processing, etc.): big tech's AI spending and demand drive its shares. Linked by “ai” (AI and big tech) in this story.
Price reaction, T-5 to T+3
| Ticker | T-5 | T-3 | T-1 | T0 | T+1 | T+2 | T+3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMHNo price data for this ticker | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| SOXXNo price data for this ticker | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| QQQ | +6.56% | +5.75% | base | +2.01% | after close | after close | after close |
| MSFTNo price data for this ticker | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| GOOGLNo price data for this ticker | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AMZNNo price data for this ticker | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AVGONo price data for this ticker | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| METANo price data for this ticker | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Closing-price change versus T-1, the last close before the story. T0 to T+3 fill in after each market close. Prices: Alpaca IEX.
Stocks had their worst day in 18 months — here's what that means for your portfolio Yahoo Finance
Source: Yahoo Finance
This story
| Company | When | Move | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| QQQ | that day | +2.01% | still updating |
| QQQ | three days earlier | +5.75% | final price |
| QQQ | five days earlier | +6.56% | final price |
Congressional trades in the stocks in this story
- Rep. Pete Sessions sold Microsoft (MSFT) (held by a spouse), worth $250,001 - $500,000 on 2 Oct 2026. That is 35 days before publication. Filed 27 Oct 2026. View the filing.
- Rep. Lisa McClain bought Microsoft (MSFT) (held by a spouse), worth $1,001 - $15,000 on 30 Sep 2026. That is 37 days before publication. Filed 12 Oct 2026. View the filing.
- Rep. Michael Rulli sold Microsoft (MSFT), worth $1,001 - $15,000 on 28 Sep 2026. That is 39 days before publication. Filed 2 Oct 2026. View the filing.
- Rep. Pete Sessions sold Alphabet (GOOGL), worth $15,001 - $50,000 on 14 Sep 2026. That is 53 days before publication. Filed 18 Sep 2026. View the filing.
- Rep. Rohit Khanna sold Alphabet (GOOGL) (held by a spouse), worth $1,001 - $15,000 on 4 Sep 2026. That is 63 days before publication. Filed 7 Oct 2026. View the filing.
- Rep. Thomas H. Kean Jr sold Alphabet (GOOGL), worth $1,001 - $15,000 on 27 Aug 2026. That is 71 days before publication. Filed 12 Sep 2026. View the filing.
- Rep. Pete Sessions sold Amazon Com (AMZN), worth $15,001 - $50,000 on 27 Oct 2026. That is 10 days before publication. Filed 27 Oct 2026. View the filing.
- Rep. Pete Sessions sold Amazon Com (AMZN) (held by a spouse), worth $100,001 - $250,000 on 2 Oct 2026. That is 35 days before publication. Filed 27 Oct 2026. View the filing.
- Rep. Michael T. McCaul sold Amazon Com (AMZN) (held by a spouse), worth $1,001 - $15,000 on 28 Aug 2026. That is 70 days before publication. Filed 14 Oct 2026. View the filing.
- Rep. Rohit Khanna sold Broadcom (AVGO) (held by a spouse), worth $1,001 - $15,000 on 25 Sep 2026. That is 42 days before publication. Filed 7 Oct 2026. View the filing.
- Rep. John J McGuire III sold Broadcom (AVGO) (held by a spouse), worth $1,001 - $15,000 on 24 Sep 2026. That is 43 days before publication. Filed 1 Nov 2026. View the filing.
- Rep. Rohit Khanna sold Broadcom (AVGO) (held by a dependent child), worth $15,001 - $50,000 on 23 Sep 2026. That is 44 days before publication. Filed 7 Oct 2026. View the filing.
Public disclosure filings, not a recommendation. The filing link is the source document. News use of these reports still sits under 5 U.S.C. § 13107(c).
This story
12 out of 100Price not final
“Stocks had their worst day in 18 months — here's what that means for your portfolio” scores 12 out of 100. The score uses 1 sources. The price is not final yet.