US stocks are trading sharply lower in the final session of October, with the Nasdaq indices again leading the declines. The selling caps a difficult month for technology, with the Nasdaq Composite down 5.30%—its worst monthly performance since March 2025.However, the monthly performance shows a market that has been far from uniform. The Dow and Russell 2000 remain positive, highlighting the gap between battered technology stocks and pockets of strength elsewhere.Today’s market: Nasdaq leads the sellingAt the latest snapshot:Dow: Down 573.08 points, or 1.09%, at 51,775.17.S&P 500: Down 140.32 points, or 1.82%, at 7,580.07.Nasdaq Composite: Down 747.73 points, or 2.86%, at 25,437.00.Russell 2000: Down 47.37 points, or 1.66%, at 2,811.84.Nasdaq 100: Down 1,017.66 points, or 3.46%, at 28,384.85.October performance: Dow outpaces Nasdaq 100 by 8.35 percentage pointsFor the month:Dow: Up 1.70%.S&P 500: Down 0.93%.Nasdaq Composite: Down 5.30%.Russell 2000: Up 0.53%.Nasdaq 100: Down 6.65%.The Dow’s 8.35-percentage-point advantage over the Nasdaq 100 underscores the extent of the divergence. Investors have continued to reward selected companies while aggressively reducing exposure to others.AI and semiconductor stocks suffer steep monthly lossesThe damage across semiconductor and AI-related stocks has been particularly severe:Intel: −45.20%.CoreWeave: −38.05%.SanDisk: −35.58%.Nebius Group: −33.65%.Lam Research: −29.69%.Arm: −29.54%.Credo Technology: −28.16%.Astera Labs: −27.42%.Bloom Energy: −27.03%.Marvell: −26.74%.Applied Materials: −26.30%.The breadth of that list matters. Selling has extended across chipmakers, equipment suppliers, connectivity companies and AI infrastructure names. Buyers have struggled to find protection across much of the investment theme.Magnificent Seven: A wide gap between winners and losersMonthly performance among the largest technology-related companies has also been sharply divided:Alphabet: −17.22%.Meta Platforms: −15.30%.Nvidia: −11.36%.Amazon: −3.17%.Microsoft: +1.78%.Apple: +4.33%.Tesla: +12.91%.Alphabet, Meta and Nvidia have suffered double-digit declines, while Tesla, Apple and Microsoft remain positive. Even within this influential group, the performance gap is substantial.October’s winners: Strength extends beyond technologyDespite the Nasdaq’s weakness, a range of companies have posted strong monthly gains:Lockheed Martin: +26.00%.Box: +25.64%.Eli Lilly: +23.28%.Intuit: +20.62%.Chewy: +20.15%.Walmart: +18.46%.Moderna: +17.35%.Shake Shack: +17.13%.Dollar Tree: +16.99%.Home Depot: +16.55%.Mastercard: +16.00%.SharkNinja: +15.72%.Gilead: +15.72%.Those gains help explain why the broader market has held up better than the Nasdaq indices. There have been opportunities outside the hardest-hit technology names.Market breadth: Sellers have the upper hand todayToday’s participation shows considerable pressure beneath the surface:Nasdaq: 778 advancing versus 2,455 declining—roughly three decliners for every advancer.Nasdaq 100: 37 advancing versus 64 declining.S&P 500: 232 advancing versus 253 declining.NYSE Composite: 633 advancing versus 1,157 declining.The S&P 500’s more balanced breadth contrasts with the heavier selling across Nasdaq-listed stocks. Nevertheless, declining stocks outnumber advancing stocks across all four measures.What comes next: Can technology buyers regain control?For buyers, the challenge is to show that technology can stabilize. A rebound in a few large names would help, but broader participation would provide a more convincing signal that selling pressure is easing.For sellers, the next question is whether weakness spreads further into the areas that have supported the broader market. The Dow and Russell 2000 remain positive for October, but today’s declines show that those areas are also feeling pressure.Next week’s earnings: Another test for technologyThe November 2–6 earnings calendar brings another important test for sentiment following October’s technology selloff. Eight reports to watch:Monday, November 2: Apple and Palantir—both after the close.Tuesday, November 3: AMD and Arista Networks—both after the close.Wednesday, November 4: Uber before the open; Qualcomm, Arm and AppLovin after the close.For the technology reports, the focus will be whether growth, margins and guidance can give buyers a reason to step back in. AI demand remains central, but investors will also want evidence that spending is translating into stronger profits and cash flow. This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.