Stocks suffered their sharpest weekly setback since June on Friday as investors continued selling technology shares tied to the artificial-intelligence boom.
Chip stocks led the retreat. Micron Technology fell 5. 6%, Advanced Micro Devices lost 6%, Broadcom dropped 4. 5% and Intel declined 5. Meta fell 3. 7% and Alphabet dropped 2. The S&P 500 finished the week down about 2%, while the Nasdaq lost roughly 4.
The index is derived from S&P 500 options prices and measures expected stock-market volatility over roughly the next month. Friday’s rise was the VIX’s largest one-day increase since June 5, and its closing level was the highest since June.
Options activity showed that some traders were positioning for volatility to remain elevated into November. They bought 9,200 November 18 calls with a strike price of 20 for $1. 7 million and 12,500 calls with a strike of 23 for $1. 1 million. Those positions would benefit if the VIX finished above the relevant levels by the third week of November.
Hotter inflation data also revived concern that interest rates could remain restrictive, adding to pressure on growth stocks.
Bitcoin’s weekend trading offered a less dramatic reading of risk. Exchanges were closed. That stability can be relevant to Monday’s opening because bitcoin trades continuously through the weekend, although it does not guarantee that stocks or the VIX will reverse.
The historical pattern was similarly mixed. In 32 instances when the VIX surged on a Friday, it continued climbing sharply on the following Monday in seven cases, including episodes in August 2015, February 2018 and August 2024. The index also remained below 20 after Friday’s jump; it has exceeded that level on more than one-third of trading days since 1990, while it has closed above 30 on about 8% of days.
Monday’s market will therefore test whether Friday’s fear was a concentrated technology selloff or the start of broader volatility. Asian shares opened unevenly, U.S. Equity futures edged higher before the session, and investors faced another week of corporate earnings that could provide fresh evidence about AI spending and valuations.