Nasdaq's Worst Month: When Tech Loses Its Crown

Key vocabulary

• caídaf.

  fall, drop, decline

  “El Nasdaq ha cerrado octubre con una caída mensual del 5,3%.”— The Nasdaq has closed October with a monthly drop of 5.3%.

  Pattern caída mensual monthly decline

  Compare descenso decline

  plural caídas

  💡 From the verb caer (to fall); the -ida suffix forms a noun indicating the result of the action

• dispararsev.

  to soar, to shoot up

  “La volatilidad se ha disparado en todo el sector tecnológico.”— Volatility has soared across the entire tech sector.

  Pattern dispararse la volatilidad volatility spikes

  Compare aumentar bruscamente increase sharply

  se dispara, se disparó, se ha disparado

  💡 Originally 'to fire like a gunshot', extended to mean a value rising sharply

• rotaciónf.

  rotation, shift

  “El sector tecnológico es la principal víctima de una rotación.”— The tech sector is the main victim of a rotation.

  Pattern rotación de sectores sector rotation

  Compare cambio change

  plural rotaciones

  💡 From Latin rotare (to rotate); in finance it refers to money moving from one asset class to another

• desplomem.

  collapse, crash

  “Alphabet sufrió un desplome histórico del 12,3%.”— Alphabet suffered a historic collapse of 12.3%.

  Pattern desplome histórico historic crash

  Compare derrumbe collapse

  plural desplomes

  💡 From desplomar (to collapse); describes a price crashing down like a building

• eclipsarv.

  to eclipse, to overshadow

  “El gasto en IA ha eclipsado el resto de partidas de Amazon.”— AI spending has eclipsed the rest of Amazon's budget lines.

  Pattern eclipsar el resto to overshadow the rest

  Compare opacar to overshadow

  eclipsa, eclipsó, ha eclipsado

  💡 From eclipse (solar eclipse); to make something else inconspicuous, as an eclipse hides the sun

• descalabrom.

  debacle, heavy loss

  “El aumento de gastos ha desatado un descalabro en Intel.”— The rise in expenses has triggered a debacle at Intel.

  Pattern sufrir un descalabro to suffer a heavy loss

  Compare fracaso failure

  plural descalabros

  💡 Originally a blow to the head; in financial contexts it describes a major loss

• hundirsev.

  to plunge, to sink

  “Intel se ha hundido un 28,58%.”— Intel has plunged 28.58%.

  Pattern hundirse un 28% to plunge 28%

  Compare caer to fall

  se hunde, se hundió, se ha hundido

  💡 Originally 'to sink to the bottom'; describes a share price sinking like a ship

• listónm.

  bar, threshold, standard

  “El listón de exigencia se ha disparado en múltiples variables.”— The bar of expectations has shot up across multiple variables.

  Pattern el listón de exigencia the bar of requirements

  Compare nivel level

  plural listones

  💡 Originally the bar used in high jump; extended to mean a standard that must be met

• flujom.

  flow, stream

  “Los flujos de caja cobran mayor protagonismo.”— Cash flows are taking on greater importance.

  Pattern flujo de caja cash flow

  Compare corriente flow

  plural flujos

  💡 From fluir (to flow); flujo de caja is a core financial concept

• protagonismom.

  prominence, leading role

  “Variables como los flujos de caja cobran mayor protagonismo.”— Variables such as cash flows are gaining greater prominence.

  Pattern cobrar protagonismo to take on greater importance

  Compare importancia importance

  no common plural

  💡 From protagonista (main character); cobrar protagonismo means to become important

• exigenciaf.

  demand, requirement, strictness

  “El ajuste refleja una mayor exigencia de los inversores.”— The adjustment reflects greater demands from investors.

  Pattern mayor exigencia higher demand

  Compare demanda demand

  plural exigencias

  💡 From exigir (to demand); the -encia suffix forms a noun

• capitalizaciónf.

  market capitalization

  “Apple es la única con una capitalización superior a los 5 billones.”— Apple is the only one with a market cap above 5 trillion.

  Pattern capitalización bursátil market capitalization

  Compare valor de mercado market value

  plural capitalizaciones

  💡 From capital (capital); refers to the total value of a company's shares

• retrocederv.

  to fall back, to retreat

  “El índice sectorial de Filadelfia ha retrocedido un 7,20%.”— The Philadelphia sector index has retreated 7.20%.

  Pattern retroceder un 7% to fall back 7%

  Compare bajar to go down

  retrocede, retrocedió, ha retrocedido

  💡 retro- (back) + ceder (to yield), meaning to move back

• turbulenciaf.

  turbulence, turmoil

  “Las turbulencias bajistas afectan a la renta variable de Asia.”— Bearish turbulence is affecting Asian equities.

  Pattern turbulencias bajistas bearish turbulence

  Compare inestabilidad instability

  plural turbulencias

  💡 Originally airflow turbulence; in finance it metaphorically describes sharp market swings

• desinflarsev.

  to deflate, to shrink

  “El Kospi se ha desinflado un 3,5%.”— The Kospi has deflated by 3.5%.

  Pattern desinflarse un 3,5% to deflate 3,5%

  Compare bajar to go down

  se desinfla, se desinfló, se ha desinflado

  💡 des- (remove) + inflar (to inflate); to shrink like a deflating balloon

Grammar spotlight

Sentence patterns to steal

• Lejos de reforzar la confianza en el rally impulsado por la IA, la actual temporada de resultados está intensificando las dudas.

  Far from reinforcing confidence in the AI-driven rally, the current earnings season is intensifying doubts.

  Lejos de + infinitive, + main clauseYou can replace the infinitive and the main clause to express 'far from... instead...'

• El listón de exigencia se ha disparado en múltiples variables: un aumento sustancial de los ingresos ya no es suficiente para recibir el visto bueno del mercado.

  The bar has been raised across multiple variables: a substantial increase in revenue is no longer enough to receive the market's approval.

  El listón de exigencia se ha disparado: ya no es suficiente + infinitiveYou can replace the specific criterion after the colon to express 'the bar has been raised; merely ... is no longer enough'

• Apple ha recuperado el trono como la empresa más valiosa de Wall Street, ya que ha limitado su descenso al 1,23%.

  Apple has reclaimed its throne as the most valuable company on Wall Street, since it has limited its decline to 1.23%.

  X ha recuperado el trono como + noun, ya que + reasonYou can replace the subject and the reason clause to express 'regaining a position and the reason for it'

• La renta variable europea, en cambio, ofrece mayor resistencia, beneficiada por su menor exposición a las tecnológicas.

  European equities, by contrast, are showing greater resilience, benefiting from their lower exposure to tech stocks.

  X, en cambio, ofrece mayor resistencia, beneficiada por + nounYou can replace the subject and the reason for benefiting to express contrast and cause

• Las turbulencias bajistas afectan en mayor medida a la renta variable de Asia, y en especial a índices con gran exposición a las tecnológicas.

  The downward turbulence is affecting Asian equities to a greater extent, and especially indices with large exposure to tech stocks.

  X afecta en mayor medida a Y, y en especial a ZYou can replace the subject and the affected objects to express 'especially affecting...'