Tech Selloff Deepens as Bank Earnings Fuel Stock Market Rotation -- Barrons.com

By Callum Keown

The stock market rotation is in full swing despite mixed bank earnings.

A burgeoning rotation away from technology into financials and healthcare stocks remains intact even after JPMorgan missed earnings estimates early Tuesday. Goldman Sachs rode to the rescue with a stellar beat.

The rotation is still happening -- the Dow Jones Industrial Average is set to rise and the Nasdaq is on track to fall -- but it's just not as strong as it might have been. UnitedHealth held up its end of the bargain as the stock rose after earnings -- Johnson & Johnson didn't.

Unfortunately, the tech selloff is still going strong. Korea's KOSPI Index slumped overnight, and the U.S. has picked up where it left off. Micron and other memory stocks are getting hit again -- this time Elon Musk has warned about the Chinese threat.

Nvidia's descent from last week's record high continues, with Microsoft and Broadcom partly to blame. The chip sector gloom looks here to stay.

Broadcom CEO Hock Tan compared AI investors to casino gamblers earlier this week, but it seems they're making a safer, more defensive, bet right now.

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📈 Here's what's happening in markets today:

The Dow is set to rise as the market rotates out of tech.

UnitedHealth, JPMorgan, Sandisk, Six Flags, SK Hynix, and more stocks that explain today's market.

Big banks report earnings as they face skeptical investors.

UnitedHealth earnings beat Wall Street estimates. The turnaround continues.

Johnson & Johnson hikes earnings guidance but pharma growth masks a MedTech stumble.

Domino's Pizza posts better-than-expected earnings. Why investors remain cautious.

Micron falls again as Musk issues warning on Chinese memory.

KOSPI slumps as U.S. AI chip panic spreads.

How Broadcom and Microsoft are shaking the chip sector.

What SpaceX needs now to dominate wireless.

🤖 Meta continues to shape AI goals with Wonder models

Meta Platforms released a new pair of artificial-intelligence models -- Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full -- as its once-scattershot AI strategy continues to evolve. Wonder is positioned as a solution for detailed, long-running tasks using what Meta calls "active memory" to carry context across conversations and tasks. Read more here.

🏦 Cleveland Fed's Hammack says rates need to be higher

Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack has spent over a year warning about the risks of persistently high inflation. Hammack tells Barron's that policy needs to be restrictive, though she is keeping an open mind about the timing of interest rate increases. The Fed's policymaking meeting next meets later this month. Read what she told Barron's here.

💪 Why Wall Street analysts are so optimistic about earnings

Analysts are painting a rosy picture of third-quarter results ahead of the earnings season, which unofficially kicks off with bank reports this week. The S&P 500's estimated third-quarter earnings growth of 29.6% would mark its third straight quarter of growth above 25%. Barron's came up with five charts to explain the optimism.

🍎 How Apple's iPhone sales could be affected by SpaceX

Apple's iPhone sales could be affected by SpaceX's spectrum acquisition as Starlink Mobile aims to become a major mobile carrier. If Starlink offers competitive pricing to compete with the big telecoms, it could also offer smaller subsidies for new smartphones, BofA Securities analyst Wamsi Mohan says. And Apple relies heavily on carrier promotions.

📝 For Skydance investors, free warrants are coming

Skydance investors will receive a nice bonus this week when the company distributes about 470 million warrants to public shareholders that could be worth a significant percentage of the currently depressed stock price. Read more about what to expect here.

🏠 Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac face fading privatization hopes

With mortgage rates rising and high housing costs under the microscope, don't expect secondary mortgage market giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to exit government conservatorship soon. Read more about how those hopes have faded here.

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🧠 Why IonQ is betting big on quantum cybersecurity

In agreeing to acquire enterprise security start-up Elisity for as much as $1.3 billion, the quantum computing company IonQ marks the latest step in its effort to branch into markets adjacent to and intertwined with quantum computing, such as networking and sensing. Read more here.

💬 Quote of the day:

Other headlines moving markets:

It's a high stakes earnings season, especially for AI stocks.

The Fed faces another stress test.

Why SpaceX's spectrum purchase is good for AST SpaceMobile.

IMF keeps global growth target unchanged but warns resilience under strain.

AI, bond yields, cyber top IMF risks to global financial markets.

Can a take-private deal save Bumble?

Why gold would love a Fed rate pause.

Bristol Myers reveals 'confounding' trial result.

AI can help small-caps beat megacap tech rivals.

Stressed consumers are still spending and these stocks could benefit.

Shopify can win big with AI agents.

Once Wall Street's darling, Cerebras stock is struggling.

Vertiv and 5 more industrial picks before earnings.

Palantir stock gets a target price boost.

How Biogen stock could rise 28%.

-- Edited by Liz Moyer, Stacy Ozol, and Patrick O'Donnell

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 13, 2026 07:49 ET (11:49 GMT)