Wall Street Stumbles Into the Close, Dow Sheds 557 as Commodities and Bitcoin Decline

Stocks slumped into Monday’s close as renewed profit-taking and pre-earnings caution dragged all major U.S. indexes lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 557 points, or about 1.2%, to roughly 46,590, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 193 points, or 0.8%, to about 22,708. The S&P 500 declined 62 points, down roughly 0.9%, finishing near 6,672, and the Russell 2000 slid 2.0% to about 232.7, capping a broadly risk-off session. In commodities, crude oil dipped 0.4% to $59.70 and gold tumbled 1.7% to about $4,026. Bitcoin retreated nearly 3% to about $91,512, extending its intraday slide as digital assets tracked the broader pullback in risk sentiment.

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Home Depot reports earnings Tuesday morning, and those results come under the heaviest scrutiny it has faced all year. The home-improvement giant has weathered shifting consumer patterns. Still, its stock has slipped sharply from early-September highs of $426 to roughly $358, a decline that has broken notable technical support. , Analysts expect muted top-line growth of around 2% to 2.5% and EPS near $3.82–$3.85, with JPMorgan trimming its U.S. comparable-sales view to 0.5% versus the Street’s 1.5%. With mortgage rates still elevated and large remodeling projects continuing to be deferred, investors are bracing for guarded commentary on margins and early-2026 demand. Digital sales, a bright spot with 12% growth last quarter, remain a watch point.

If Home Depot represents a barometer for household resilience, Nvidia is the litmus test for the market’s most significant thematic trade: AI infrastructure. The semiconductor heavyweight reports fiscal third-quarter results on Wednesday after the close. Wall Street is expecting roughly $54.8–$ 55 billion in revenue and gross margins of nearly 73.5%.

The stock recently pulled back from an all-time high near $212, settling on its 50-day moving average, a technical line that could prove either a launchpad or a trap door depending on guidance. With a reported order backlog exceeding $500 billion, the Street’s focus is on Blackwell adoption rates, capacity for high-bandwidth memory, and whether January-quarter revenue can surpass estimates of nearly $62 billion. Even modest disappointments risk reigniting concerns that AI-linked equities have run too far, too fast.

Alphabet was one of the market’s fundamental bright spots after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a $4.3 billion stake, making the Google parent its 10th-largest holding. Analyst Angelo Zino of CFRA Research said the move “validates GOOG's strong fundamentals and provides Berkshire exposure to a leading AI provider through Google Cloud and Gemini expansion,” adding that the endorsement “likely bodes well from an investor confidence perspective” given the company’s robust cash generation and reasonable valuation.

Fresh consumer spending data from the Bank of America Institute provided another layer of context. Despite intermittent signs of strain, households remain on a relatively firm footing: deposits across income groups remain above 2019 levels, credit-card balances are not stretched, and October spending rose 2.4% year-over-year, the strongest pace since early 2024.

Holiday-related purchases climbed 5.7% YoY, though transaction volumes have slipped slightly since January, suggesting consumers may be buying fewer items at higher prices. A divergence persists between income brackets, with higher-income households supporting the bulk of current spending momentum. Still, 62% of surveyed consumers report feeling financial strain as they head into the holidays.

With Nvidia and Home Depot poised to set the tone for equities into Thanksgiving, and with the consumer picture still resilient but not exuberant, markets appear content to wait for firmer signals.