Stock market today: Dow sinks 600 points, S&P 500, Nasdaq drop to cap a volatile week, oil prices rise
The major averages fell on Friday as higher oil prices weighed on sentiment ahead of next week's Fed policy meeting, with Brent settling at a six-month high and WTI closing just above $103 a barrel. American Express fell 3% after delivering third-quarter results, and AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile traded sharply lower from the premarket. Yahoo Finance
Brent Tops $116 as Middle East Risks Grow
Brent for December settlement rose 3.1% to $116.72 a barrel, up more than 6% this week and at its highest since April, while December WTI climbed 3.8% to $103.27. Intensifying attacks on Saudi Arabia, including Houthi claims on the port of Yanbu, raised supply fears; traders were reluctant to hold short positions into the weekend, and dealer hedging of short-gamma options positions amplified the rally. Bloomberg
Telecom Stocks Fall as SpaceX Eyes 80,000 Cell Sites: T-Mobile Sinks 5%, AT&T Drops 4%, Verizon Slides 3%
The carriers sold off in morning trading after Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that SpaceX is in talks with at least one major cell tower owner to secure access to a large network of U.S. cell sites. SpaceX has agreed to acquire nationwide 800 MHz spectrum licenses, a purchase it expects to close in the first half of 2027. 24/7 Wall St.
Cybersecurity Stocks Rise as Evercore Survey Flags Strengthening Demand: Okta, CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Climb 4%
Cybersecurity stocks outpaced the rest of large-cap tech after Evercore ISI's quarterly channel-partner survey, in which partners described spending aimed at securing data and AI, protecting identities and locking down cloud environments, and saw no demand cliff ahead. Okta showed the strongest pipeline momentum among the vendors surveyed. 24/7 Wall St.
| Asset | Close | Chg | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500^GSPC | 7,623.68 | -39.75 | -0.52% |
| Nasdaq Composite^IXIC | 25,955.34 | -53.52 | -0.21% |
| Dow Jones^DJI | 52,215.16 | -652.82 | -1.23% |
| CBOE Volatility Index^VIX | 19.45 | +0.42 | +2.21% |
| U.S. Dollar IndexDXY · 4:00 PM ET | 101.80 | +0.17 | +0.17% |
| Brent CrudeICE Dec '26 · 2:30 PM ET settle | $116.72 | +$3.55 | +3.14% |
| WTI CrudeNYMEX Dec '26 · 2:30 PM ET settle | $103.27 | +$3.80 | +3.82% |
| GoldCOMEX Dec '26 · 1:30 PM ET | $4,007.40 | -$52.60 | -1.30% |
| Tenor | Close | Chg | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-MonthT-bill | 4.11% | 0bp | 0.00% |
| 3-MonthT-bill | 4.22% | 0bp | 0.00% |
| 6-MonthT-bill | 4.30% | +1bp | +0.23% |
| 1-YearT-note | 4.44% | +3bp | +0.68% |
| 2-YearT-note | 4.69% | +4bp | +0.86% |
| 5-YearT-note | 4.82% | +4bp | +0.84% |
| 10-YearT-note | 5.00% | +4bp | +0.81% |
| 30-YearT-bond | 5.33% | +4bp | +0.76% |
Equities closed a volatile week lower, with the selling concentrated outside technology: the Dow fell 652.82 points, or 1.23%, to 52,215.16, the S&P 500 0.52% to 7,623.68 and the Nasdaq Composite 0.21% to 25,955.34, while the VIX rose 0.42 to 19.45. Only three of 11 sectors closed higher: Energy (+2.60%) led as crude extended its rally, followed by Technology (+0.49%) and Real Estate (+0.12%), while Consumer Staples (-1.92%), Communication Services (-1.78%) and Consumer Discretionary (-1.66%) were the weakest, reversing Thursday's defensive rotation. Crown Castle (+9.06%) led S&P 500 gainers as reported SpaceX cell-site talks lifted tower owners, ahead of CrowdStrike (+8.25%) and Palo Alto Networks (+7.22%) on the Evercore channel survey, and oilfield-services names SLB (+7.08%) and Halliburton (+5.21%). Bloom Energy (-11.24%) was the index's weakest name, followed by Comfort Systems USA (-9.26%), Globe Life (-8.09%), AT&T (-7.96%) and T-Mobile US (-7.71%), the latter two on the same SpaceX report.
December Brent rose $3.55 to $116.72, its highest settle since April, and December WTI $3.80 to $103.27, narrowing the Brent-WTI spread to $13.45 from $13.70. Treasuries gave back part of Thursday's rally, with the 2-year, 5-year, 10-year and 30-year each up 4bp, to 4.69%, 4.82%, 5.00% and 5.33%, leaving 2s10s unchanged at 31bp and the 10-year back at 5.00% on Treasury's par curve. The dollar firmed (DXY 101.80, +0.17), and gold fell a second day, down 1.30% to $4,007.40 (1:30 PM ET print).
The October 27-28 FOMC is the week's central event, with the statement due October 28 at 2:00 PM ET and the press conference at 2:30 PM, against a backdrop of crude above $116 and a 10-year at 5.00%. Treasury supply runs alongside it: $69bn of 2-year notes Monday, $70bn of 5-year notes Tuesday, a $30bn 2-year FRN Wednesday and $44bn of 7-year notes Thursday. The September Chicago Fed National Activity Index and October Dallas Fed manufacturing survey lead off Monday, followed Tuesday by September durable goods and new home sales and the October Conference Board consumer confidence index, and Wednesday by the September advance trade and inventories report ahead of the decision. Moderna's full melanoma vaccine data are due Saturday at ESMO in Madrid.