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Hello everyone, I am Leonie Kidd. Below is today's Morning Squawk.
Before Halloween actually began, the market already experienced a "Friday Thriller."
Tech stocks suffered another heavy setback, with the disappointing performance of Amazon and Intel further dragging down the sector's performance.
But what is the real “shock” today? The biggest theft in the history of cryptocurrencies. Binance is in turmoil due to a hacker attack, which affected assets worth up to $6.3 billion. The blame is being pointed at an entity that is supported by the state.
What's happening: Selling of tech stocks
Friday seems set to be the worst trading day for NASDAQ this week. The significant declines of tech giants have continued to accumulate throughout the week, pushing the index into a downward trend.
Let's start with Amazon.
Earnings per share and revenue both fell short of expectations, overshadowing the fastest growth rate of AWS in five years. The stock's decline continued after the market closed, with trading prices falling by more than 7% before the opening.
- Shareholder Perspective: Bill Baruch of Blue Line Capital stated in the program Closing Bell that Amazon's capital expenditure is currently the most concerning issue, but this stock still has strong technical support.
- More warning signs: The Tom Forte from Maxim Group warns that the difficult macroeconomic environment in which consumers find themselves is an unfavorable sign for Amazon as it enters the fourth quarter.
Intel's impact on investors is even greater.
This chip manufacturer provided fourth-quarter guidance that fell short of expectations and warned that the weakness in the personal computer market would continue, resulting in a 25% plunge in the stock price before trading began.
- Executive Statement: Intel's Chief Financial Officer David Zisner stated, "We believe that the slowdown in PC will continue at least until the first half of next year."
- Background: Before the release of its financial report, Intel's stock price had risen by about 150% so far this year. However, due to growing concerns in the market about the excessive scale of artificial intelligence development, the stock price fell by about 23% in October.
Cryptocurrency Market Focus: Binance Suffers a Hacker Attack
Binance has suffered its largest crypto hacking attack to date.
In the early hours of the morning, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange disclosed that a security incident affected assets worth $6.3 billion.
The current known information is as follows:
- Co-CEO Richard Teng stated on X.com that preliminary investigations indicate that the source of the hacker attack was the intrusion into a laptop belonging to an DevOps engineer.
- He also promised, "Your funds are safe, and we will cover any losses."
- He did not attribute the responsibility to any individual.
- In relation to this hacking incident, Binance has frozen $3 billion in assets, Circle has frozen $800 million, and Tether has frozen $1.56 billion.
What we are still not clear about is:
- There is widespread speculation in the market that this was a cyberattack supported by the state, and the finger is already pointing towards North Korea. In 2025, FBI held North Korea responsible for the $1.5 billion theft case that ByBit encountered; that incident had previously been considered the largest crypto hacking case in history until now.
- According to a report from Arjun Kharpal of CNBC, hackers have been testing Binance's code, rehearsing this theft operation, and then waiting for the right moment to strike.
Affected by this incident, Bitcoin fell below $78,000. Meanwhile, Binance froze $3 billion in assets, Circle froze $800 million, and Tether froze $1.56 billion.
- Analysis: Frank Downing of Ark Invest stated in an interview with CNBC last night that regulatory authorities should avoid hasty reactions and not make encryption policies stricter; Chris Perkins of Franklin Crypto argued that investigations should focus on the perpetrators rather than the victims of the hacking incidents.
Individual stocks with significant fluctuations: Large-cap stocks, large fluctuations
Several giant stocks experienced significant fluctuations before the market opened, with some stocks seeing declines of double digits.
Intel led the decline, with a loss of over 25% in the early stages before the market opened.
Reddit also fell by more than 20%, following a previous warning from CEO that the average daily number of unique visitors in the fourth quarter could decline by double digits.
Amazon is still under pressure, with a pre-market decline of over 7%.
Alphabet The stock price remains flat, after having fallen by more than 12% during trading on Thursday.
- Analysis: Earlier on Friday, Matt Orton from Raymond James stated to CNBC that this is not a "liquidation moment" for the tech sector, and investors should regard these pullbacks as buying opportunities.
At the same time, there was also a clear sell-off related to the Binance hack incident.
Circle The stock price initially fell by more than 5%, and ProShares Bitcoin strategy, as well as ETF and iShares Bitcoin trusts, also saw declines.
Today's Financial Report: Focusing on Energy
Today is an important day for energy stocks, as both ExxonMobil and Chevron will release their financial reports.
Chevron's third-quarter performance exceeded expectations, thanks to the solid performance of its downstream businesses, and its stock price rose before the market opened.
- Rating: William Blair assigned Chevron an initial rating of “outperforming the market,” stating that the group “has created a differentiated portfolio of upstream and downstream assets, which, combined with significant cash profit margins, has led to continuously record-breaking earnings.”
- Exclusive: Please watch “Squawk on the Street” to hear Chevron’s CEO Mike Wirth explain why the energy system is still vulnerable.
After CEO Darren Woods stated that "the second quarter was affected by disruptions, but it is defined by execution," the market expects ExxonMobil's earnings per share to increase by 112% year-over-year.
- Cramer's view: Jim has always stated that Chevron has more advantages than ExxonMobil, and specifically pointed out that its offshore business capability is a major strength.
Finally...
Trump and Vance cancel some public appearances during the final sprint of the midterms
In the final stages of these midterms that could result in the Republican Party losing control of Congress, U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance canceled multiple scheduled events in three states.
Trump canceled two weekend rallies scheduled to take place in Kansas and Iowa, and instead conducted a series of "telecall appeals" via phone. The Republican National Committee stated that the president will reach at least 19 states during the "72-hour sprint" leading up to the election on Tuesday.
The canceled trip was originally part of Trump's mid-term election campaign. He had previously stated that he would travel to 35 locations to mobilize voters for the Republican Party. He was scheduled to attend events in Kansas on Saturday and in Iowa on Sunday.
CNBC's Robert Hum, Kate Rooney, Jordan Novet, Arjun Kharpal, Jason Gewirtz, and Anniek Bao have contributed to this report.
Edited by John Melloy for this issue.
