US Equity Indexes Drop, Treasury Yields Slump Amid Record October Layoffs

01:36 PM EST, 11/06/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes fell midday Thursday, led by the consumer discretionary and technology sectors, after a labor market report showed the highest number of recorded layoffs in October in more than two decades, sending government bond yields tumbling.

The Nasdaq Composite slumped 1.6% to 23,137.4, with the S&P 500 down 0.9% to 6,733.4 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.8% lower at 46,922.7. Energy was the sole gainer.

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said firms planned to cut 153,074 jobs in October, the largest total for the month since 2003, up from 55,597 a year ago. The most cited reason was cost-cutting, which accounted for 50,437 of the total, followed by AI, which drove 31,039 layoff intentions.

US Treasury yields slumped, with the 10-year yield down 7 basis points to 4.09% and the two-year rate lower by 7.3 basis points to 3.56%.

The CBOE Volatility Index, also known as the fear gauge, rose nearly 11% to 19.95.

The ICE US Dollar Index fell 0.5% to 99.71.

The Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ) , with net assets of $5.98 billion and investments in companies related to AI, declined 1.7%. The $386 billion Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), a tech-heavy exchange-traded fund offering exposure to Magnificent-7 across technology and communication services sectors, dived 1.6%.

Meanwhile, shareholders will vote Thursday on Tesla (TSLA) Chief Executive Elon Musk's proposed $1 trillion compensation package for the next decade. The results are expected to be released after the meeting concludes. Shares of the electric vehicle manufacturer slumped 3.2%.

Datadog (DDOG) shares rose 21%, the top performer on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, after the firm posted higher Q3 non-GAAP earnings and sales, and raised its 2025 outlook. The worst performer in the two indexes was DoorDash (DASH) , which retreated nearly 16% after Q3 earnings missed analysts' expectations.

Supreme Court judges signaled skepticism around the legality of Trump's tariffs against most of the country's trading partners, CNBC reported Wednesday.

"The White House is always preparing for Plan B," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said ahead of the hearing, BBC reported Wednesday, referring to other tools that the administration has at its disposal to impose tariffs outside of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures dropped 0.8% to $59.11 a barrel.

Gold futures slightly fell to $3,994 per ounce, and silver futures declined 0.3% to $47.87.

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