Over 60% of S&P 500 Stocks Are in a Bear Market as Big Tech Cracks

Intel is leading the wreckage. The chipmaker shed nearly 10% during the November 2 session after an almost 30% plunge the Friday before, leaving INTC down 37% across just three trading days, according to the Kobeissi Letter. The stock now sits roughly 57% below its recent record high.

It's not alone. Oracle dropped about 9% after unveiling plans to raise $20 billion through debt and equity to bankroll its AI buildout, and Marvell dumped almost 13%. The Nasdaq 100 has slipped into correction territory, more than 10% below its record close, as investors keep asking whether Big Tech's massive AI spending will ever pay off.

Apple's turn came next. Shares fell almost 5% in pre-market trading on November 3 after the company warned that rising memory-chip costs would squeeze its holiday-quarter margins, with gross margin expected to land around 45%-46% versus 48% in the prior quarter. The warning landed even though Apple's latest revenue beat Wall Street's expectations.

CryptoPotato reported over the weekend that the share of S&P 500 companies down more than 20% from their respective highs had climbed past 60%, even as the headline index stayed near record territory. AppLovin, Coinbase, CoreWeave, Intel, Oracle, Alphabet, Meta and Amazon were already flagged by Kobeissi as large caps deep in bear-market conditions. Alphabet took a double-digit post-earnings hit last week and shed nearly 19% across October.

There's a catch, though. Monday's selling stayed heavily concentrated in tech, and nearly 70% of S&P 500 companies actually closed higher even as heavyweight losses dragged the index down. That's a big difference from a synchronized, everywhere-at-once collapse.

Politics is adding fuel. With midterm elections underway and expectations pointing to a near-80% chance of a Democrat sweep, President Trump has vowed to become 'Mr. Veto' if that happens. Kobeissi's take: 'A change in the political landscape always comes with uncertainty; markets hate uncertainty. Objectively, the market is in the process of pricing in two years of political gridlock.'