Also in Weekend Reads: Ideas for generating investment income, new tax brackets, buying a home with cash and advice from the Moneyist
Following the brutal decline for tech stocks on Nov. 5, the obvious question for investors was whether they had been presented with a buying opportunity.
After a wave of victories by the Democratic Party erased any election-related uncertainties, a brief period of relief for the stock market was reversed, and then some, on Thursday. The S&P 500 sank 4.4%, booking its largest loss of market value on record.
The reversal was especially sharp for the technology sector of the S&P 500 SPX, which fell 7.3% on Thursday. The action was especially magnified for hardware companies enabling the buildout of artificial-intelligence infrastructure, with the PHLX Semiconductor Index SOX sliding 12.2%.
Here's a roundup of coverage of the Big Tech decline and reaction from professional investors, strategists and traders:
-- Is this 'the big one' for the stock market? Wall Street sounds off as tech plunges.
-- The year's most successful stock-market trades are unraveling - perhaps for good
-- What the governor-elect of Texas, at the epicenter of the AI-trade blowup, is now saying about data centers
-- Buy the dip or wait it out? Young investors react as retail stock selling hits one of its highest levels since COVID crash.
-- The real test for the artificial-intelligence build-out is what happens in 2028, analysts say
-- The 'Musk selloff' deepens as Tesla and SpaceX combine for $456 billion two-day wipeout
Brett Arends: The S&P 500 has become a big AI bet. Here are some simple alternatives.
This may have fed the Big Tech rout
Leading up to Thursday's tech-stock tumble, concern was growing over the borrowing costs for hyperscalers and other companies to fund data-center construction and to pay for cloud computing and AI development services. But another cost for investors to worry about is the reduction of their ownership stakes in tech companies that issue stock to raise cash.
Jurica Dujmovic described how AI is "changing the bargain" between Big Tech companies and their shareholders.
Related: Watch out for Big Tech companies like Meta and Alphabet issuing more shares and diluting your stock ownership
A flight to safety - and lower interest rates
Early on Friday, 10-year U.S. Treasury notes BX:TMUBMUSD10Y were yielding 4.87%, down from 5.29% at the end of September. As bond prices rise, yields fall. Joy Wiltermuth looked into the potential for a dramatic further decline in long-term interest rates.
As some investors dump stocks, others go bottom-fishing
Nvidia's stock has pulled back significantly from its October peak.
Nvidia's (NVDA) stock declined 9.3% on Thursday and was down 25.4% from an intraday high set on Oct. 6. Britney Nguyen spoke with professional investors who believe Nvidia's stock has fallen enough to provide a compelling entry point for new investors.
And here's a look at the components of the PHLX Semiconductor Index SOX, for which the weighted valuation to consensus earnings estimates has been cut in half.
A contrary opinion: These three stars need to align before investors rush back into stocks, Bank of America strategist says
A time for dividend stocks
Dividend stocks have performed quite well this year. The ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats exchange-traded fund NOBL, which tracks the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index XX:SP50DIV, has returned 16.3% in 2026, while the S&P 500 has returned 8.4%, both with dividends reinvested.
Here's a deep dive into the Dividend Aristocrats, including two screens of this group of 68 stocks.
Will AI doom the internet?
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said during the company's earnings call on Oct. 29 that search traffic to the website had "dropped by more than 1 million referrals on average per week," according to a transcript provided by FactSet.
The adoption of generative AI is having a profound effect on all sorts of companies. It calls many business models into question, especially on the internet. Consider how you search for information online: You may formerly have been likely to click a link to get more information after running a Google search. But now, you might stop after the AI summary gives you what you need.
Bill Peters outlined how AI has been affecting large and small businesses that rely on the internet.
More from Bill Peters: McDonald's tests new value menu as fast-food discount wars heat up
How about a cash purchase?
Imagine if you could buy a home using cash rather than taking out a mortgage loan. A record number of first-time home buyers are doing just that.
Paying in cash lets you avoid paying interest and some fees, as well as the loan-processing delay. You would not need to prove anything to a loan underwriter and you would avoid being pushed into having escrowed money for taxes and insurance added to your monthly payment - and then monitoring your loan servicer to make sure they don't mess up their annual payment of those items on your behalf.
Paying cash might even make it easier for you to get the seller to lower their price.
Aarthi Swaminathan explained why even first-time home buyers have become more likely to pay cash, and how they are getting the money together.
It's almost tax time again
With new information available from the IRS, this is a good time to make tax-planning decisions, rather than waiting until April.
Andrew Keshner outlined the Internal Revenue Service's new income-tax brackets:
-- The 2027 tax brackets are out. See what the standard deduction and SALT tax breaks will be.
-- Here are the 2027 capital-gains tax rates for each income level
And Beth Pinsker followed up with these instructions on how the new tax brackets can affect decisions on Roth IRA conversions in 2027.
Do this if you want guaranteed income, without an annuity
Some investors seeking guaranteed income would rather avoid making use of annuities offered by life-insurance companies. This week in the Fix My Portfolio column, Beth Pinsker looked at attractive new yields for the Treasury's I-bonds and explained how you can set up your own inflation-protected income stream.
The Moneyist takes on family conflicts
Quentin Fottrell is The Moneyist.
Quentin Fottrell - The Moneyist - often wades into treacherous waters to give advice. This week he answered questions from a woman who wants to contest her father's will, which was changed suddenly to leave everything to her brother.
More money conflicts:
-- 'It feels like he's quietly building a separate life': My husband inherited $500,000, but he refuses to spend it on our home
-- Two months after my father's funeral, my stepmother asked me to repay his $40,000 wedding gift. Should I do what she says?
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-Philip van Doorn
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