The weekly read — Week of Oct 24 – Oct 30, 2026
A late-October tech selloff ended a strong year for momentum strategies. QQQ dropped 7.9% over four weeks on AI-spending doubts after weak Intel and Amazon results. Treasuries rallied 5.6% as safe-haven flows lifted bonds to their strongest month since 2024. Emerging markets…
- Published
- 31 Oct 2026
- Reading time
- 2 min
Week of Oct 24 – Oct 30, 2026
The take
A late-October tech selloff ended a strong year for momentum strategies. QQQ dropped 7.9% over four weeks on AI-spending doubts after weak Intel and Amazon results. Treasuries rallied 5.6% as safe-haven flows lifted bonds to their strongest month since 2024. Emerging markets fell 9.8%, led by Korean and Taiwanese chipmakers.
The week at a glance
- This week — Tech tumbled while bonds rallied; the S&P fell 0.6% as QQQ lost 2%.
- Past 4 weeks — A 7.9% QQQ drop led stocks lower while Treasuries posted a 5.6% gain.
- Year-to-date — Commodities drove TAA strategies; DBC returned 50.3% against flat bonds and mid-teens equity.
This week: tech stocks cracked while Treasuries surged on a flight to safety
Amazon and Intel reported weak results on Thursday 29 October, sending the Nasdaq down 2.9% on Friday—its worst day since June—as concerns about AI spending fueled a $1 trillion wipeout in tech market cap. QQQ lost 2.0% over the week; XLK fell 2.0%, and XLC dropped 5.3%. The S&P 500 managed only –0.6%, cushioned by defensive rotation into healthcare and consumer staples. Commodities gave back earlier gains: DBC fell 1.4%, gold dropped 3.0%. Bonds delivered the mirror image: TLT rose 0.6% as investors sought safety, capping a month in which the 10-year Treasury yield fell 40 basis points.
Past 4 weeks: the AI rally reversed, sending bonds to their strongest month since 2024
U.S. Treasuries surged into month-end, driving the 10-year yield down roughly 40 basis points in October—the biggest monthly rally since 2024—as tech weakness triggered a defensive rotation. QQQ dropped 7.9% over the period; XLK fell 10.2%. Emerging markets bore the brunt: EEM lost 9.8%, with the MSCI developing-nations index hitting two-month lows as Korean and Taiwanese chipmakers sold off. Commodities bounced mid-month but ended mixed: DBC rose 3.3%, while gold fell 6.4%. The four-week story is a sharp reversal in the AI trade, with bonds reclaiming their role as the primary defensive hedge.
Year-to-date: commodities and equities powered momentum strategies; bonds and gold lagged
The 2026 storyline remains a commodity surge paired with solid equity gains and bond headwinds. DBC returned 50.3%, driven by oil and metals; SPY rose 11.7%, VEA 12.2%, and EEM 12.2%. QQQ gained 12.8% despite the October pullback, while XLK delivered 25.1%. On the defensive side, TLT fell 2.8% and gold dropped 10.2%, underperforming cash at 3.0%. The TAA strategies capitalized: Dual Momentum Pivot5 returned 13.0% by rotating into the commodity rally, while the SAA portfolios' broader sleeves tempered gains. Commodities defined 2026; strategies that held them—and avoided gold—extracted the year's alpha.
Sources: Bloomberg · NBC News · Yahoo Finance · Investing.com
Renevier, S. (2026). The weekly read — Week of Oct 24 – Oct 30, 2026. InvestLab Research, Weekly read No. 17, 31 October 2026. www.investlab.app/research/week-of-oct-24-oct-30-2026For information and education only. Nothing here is investment advice. Backtested results are hypothetical and shown with their assumptions; past performance does not guarantee future returns.