Amazon's and Intel's stocks are set to plunge. But Wall Street's October winners may surprise you.

By Mark DeCambre

Energy stocks are up nearly 12% this month, financials almost 10%, and the Dow is on track for a gain

🎃Happy Halloween weekend to all who observe! Here's what I'm thinking about this morning: closing out October. The month has a reputation for spooking investors. This year, the fright turned out to be surprisingly selective.

With one trading day left in the month, the Nasdaq Composite is down about 2.5%, and the S&P 500's communication-services sector has plunged more than 14%.

And October didn't content itself with those scares. Alphabet shares tumbled Thursday, while those of Amazon and Intel looked set to join the bludgeoning Friday following their earnings reports.

But the monthly snapshot looks very different elsewhere. Energy stocks are up nearly 12%, financials have gained almost 10%, and the Dow is heading for a gain of nearly 3%.

The Dow and Nasdaq began the month of October on pretty much the same footing. Then their paths diverged dramatically.

A frightful October for some of Wall Street's biggest names. For plenty of other stocks, not so much.

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Three stories worth your time ...

-- Oil at $100 a barrel is "ours for awhile" - no matter what happens in the Gulf.

-- Get ready for the "Year of Starlink" as airlines battle over superfast wifi.

-- A Starbucks turnaround is brewing - but perhaps not quickly enough for investors.

On markets: The stock market's best forecasting tool says returns over the next 10 years will be dismal, writes columnist Mark Hulbert. Here's why.

Watchlist: Friday was emblematic of the month - the Dow Jones Industrial Average was headed in premarket trading (YM00) for a steady start. The Nasdaq-100 (NQ00) in early action was on course for its third worst day of the month after the disappointments from Amazon and Intel.

-- Check out our live markets coverage to monitor how the Dow DJIA, the Nasdaq COMP and the full range of financial instruments are faring Friday.

-- Alphabet's stock just triggered a "death cross." Could the worst of its selloff be over?

Amazon's big ambitions, bigger expectations ...

Amazon (AMZN) has some lofty ambitions for its cloud business. CEO Andy Jassy is forecasting 40% growth in both 2027 and 2028, with AWS becoming a $1 trillion business someday. But even that wasn't enough to overcome disappointment over Amazon's earnings, and shares tumbled in after-hours trade Thursday, writes Christine Ji.

PC problems: Meanwhile, Intel shares (INTC) were headed for their worst single-session drop in two years after the chip maker issued a forecast that fell short of investors' expectations , with a weak revenue forecast on low PC demand, Britney Nguyen reports.

A crucial vote ...

Next week's midterm elections could determine how Congress addresses Social Security's looming funding crisis, writes Alessandra Malito.

The program's retirement trust fund is projected to exhaust its reserves in roughly six years - coinciding with each newly elected senator's term.

What happens between now and then will have major consequences for millions of Americans.

Time to splurge?

A frugal couple find themselves looking at a rosy financial future, with likely more money left in retirement than they will ever spend. Can they finally afford to splurge in their golden years? The Moneyist weighs in as the voice of reason.

Treasury to the rescue?

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent talks with Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh at a late-summer G-20 ministerial gathering.

The Fed's decision to hold interest rates steady this week despite rising inflation left economists grumbling. But the Treasury Department may soon help matters by moving to ease pressure on longer-dated yields and keeping a lid on borrowing costs. Joy Wiltermuth and Greg Robb explain how that might work.

Where did the jobs go?

The low-fire, low-hire economy is turning 3. That might sounds like stability, but try telling that to someone looking for work.

MarketWatch's Jeffry Bartash, Jillian Berman and Greg Robb examine how a labor market with relatively few layoffs but little hiring has left job seekers struggling and economists baffled. What's behind the stalemate in employment?

Is artificial intelligence playing a role? And what will it take to get Americans hiring - and getting hired - again?

About me

Mark DeCambre is editor in chief of MarketWatch. He has spent more than 20 years covering Wall Street, markets and personal finance, and writes Need to Know, drawing on the award-winning analysis and journalism of the newsroom.

-Mark DeCambre

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