U.S. stocks opened broadly lower on October 23 after reports that SpaceX was seeking large-scale access to American telecom towers for a nationwide wireless program, intensifying competition concerns for AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.94%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.54% and the Nasdaq Composite declined, while the three major wireless carriers fell sharply after dropping about 5% each in premarket trading. Crown Castle rose 10.5% and American Tower gained 7.3% on expectations that SpaceX could increase demand for tower access, while SpaceX shares rose 2.1%. Earlier disclosures said SpaceX was seeking access to at least 80,000 U.S. cell sites as it develops Starlink Mobile into a fourth nationwide carrier. The broader market remained under pressure after a sharp reversal in AI-linked stocks sent the Nasdaq down nearly 3% on Thursday, with Meta falling almost 8% after reporting its first cash outflow in more than a decade amid concerns about AI spending. Investors were also awaiting earnings from Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon, a University of Michigan sentiment reading and the Federal Reserve's next meeting, with markets largely expecting rates to remain unchanged. Verizon was scheduled to report third-quarter results on October 26, with investors focused on subscriber additions, churn, revenue and guidance.