US Equity Indexes Decline as Record October Layoffs Raise Economic Growth Concerns

03:57 PM EST, 11/06/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes fell ahead of Thursday's close as the consumer discretionary and technology sectors fell after a slump in government bond yields, following a weak labor market report, revived the growth versus valuation debate.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slumped 1.4% to 23,168.5, with the S&P 500 down 0.7% to 6,746.7 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.6% lower at 47,052.1. Energy was the standout 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 6.6 basis points to 4.09% and the two-year rate lower by 6.8 basis points to 3.56%.

The Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ) , with net assets of $5.98 billion and investments in companies related to AI, declined 1.6%. 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 1.5%.

The results of the Thursday shareholder vote on Tesla (TSLA) Chief Executive Elon Musk's proposed $1 trillion compensation package are expected later in the day. Shares of the electric vehicle manufacturer slumped 3.6%.

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