# Market Watch — 2026-10-30

Updated: 2026-10-30T11:43:59.410554-04:00

1. **Binance halts transactions and freezes $2.54B in assets amid multibillion-dollar hack probe**  
   Binance suspended all deposits, withdrawals, and transactions as it investigates a suspected hack in which analysts say hackers stole at least $3 billion and possibly up to $5.6 billion. Tether, Circle, and other issuers froze more than $2.54 billion in assets tied to the security incident, while Binance and Changpeng Zhao stated that user funds remain safe.

2. **Amazon misses Q3 estimates with $42.4B negative free cash flow despite 39% AWS growth**  
   Amazon missed third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations as negative free cash flow ballooned to $42.4 billion and the company kept its 2026 capital expenditure guidance unchanged, even as AWS revenue grew 39% above consensus after signing deals with Meta and OpenAI. The disappointing results deepened a global technology stock selloff, weighing on Asian semiconductor shares and driving investors into haven assets such as U.S. Treasuries.

3. **ECB holds rates at 2.5% as President Christine Lagarde announces early resignation**  
   The European Central Bank kept its key interest rate unchanged at 2.5%, sending Eurozone bond yields lower, as President Christine Lagarde announced she will step down early on February 7 next year. Her departure comes amid heightened concern over energy costs and France's fiscal and bond market strains.

4. **U.S. Q3 GDP grows 3.4% as September PCE inflation accelerates**  
   U.S. third-quarter GDP expanded at a better-than-expected 3.4% pace while the September personal consumption expenditures price index was projected to rise 0.5% on the month for a 3.7% annual rate. Despite the indicators pointing to robust growth and accelerating inflation following the Federal Reserve's recent rate pause, U.S. Treasury yields fell.

5. **Alphabet suffers worst day on record, erasing $500B in value on search weakness and cash burn**  
   Following its initial post-earnings slide, Alphabet shares plunged nearly 13% in regular trading to suffer their worst day on record, erasing $500 billion in market value and dragging U.S. stocks lower. Investors reacted to weaker-than-expected core search revenue—seen as a sign of AI pressure on search—alongside larger-than-expected negative free cash flow as third-quarter AI spending topped $50 billion.