Stocks Under Pressure Before Earnings, Oil Dips: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Stocks struggled to recover from a volatile week as investors awaited megacap earnings for clues on whether the recent pressure on the artificial intelligence trade will persist. Crude oil fell.
MSCI Inc.’s Asia Pacific equities gauge swung between small gains and losses in early Monday trading after posting its fourth consecutive decline last week, the longest losing streak since April.
Futures contracts for the S&P 500 Index and the Nasdaq 100 Index pared early gains and were little changed after the AI trade came under intense pressure last week and a key US chip gauge posted its longest weekly losing streak since November.
Meanwhile, a Tokyo-based exchange-traded fund tracking Brazilian stocks slumped 12% after Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pulled off a surprising win in Sunday’s runoff.
Providing some support, global crude oil benchmark Brent dropped 1.1% from a six-month high to about $115.40 a barrel. US President Donald Trump said it’s “getting to be decision time” on whether to reach a deal with Tehran or resume attacks as threats from Iran and the Houthis against Americans in the Middle East mount.
Investors face another pivotal week after a volatile stretch for the AI trade, with earnings from Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. set to test confidence in the sector. Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan policy decisions will add to the week’s major catalysts as officials contend with stubborn inflation, higher energy costs and elevated bond yields globally.
“Global markets are preparing for another big week,” Nick Twidale, chief market analyst at AT Global Markets in Sydney, wrote in a note. The focus is “set to shift back towards central banks and interest rates after several weeks of geopolitical headlines dominating market moves.”
The Fed and its peers in the euro zone and Japan will probably keep rates steady in the coming week, opting to bide their time before potential further hikes. Three days of decisions starting on Wednesday in Washington are likely to affirm a hawkish stance balanced by a measured pace as policymakers confront inflation risks ranging from surging energy prices to the AI boom.
The US central bank raised rates in September for the first time since 2023 and signaled another increase was likely this year. While US inflation has remained elevated, officials have indicated little urgency to move again this week, with economists and investors expecting the next increase in December.
Elsewhere, French bond futures climbed after the country dodged a downgrade at Moody’s Ratings, providing respite for a country beset by surging bond yields, political gridlock and street protests.
The euro was also quoted a touch higher. Gold slipped 0.2% to about $3,990 an ounce.
It’s also Asia’s busiest earnings week. About 550 of the roughly 1,200 companies in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index are due to report this week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That includes some of the biggest names in the AI boom, such as Korean memory giants SK Hynix Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.
Geopolitical risks are also likely to remain elevated heading into next month. Trump has suggested US strikes on Iran could resume after the Nov. 3 midterm elections, while officials have warned the period between the vote and the new Congress taking office could be particularly dangerous.
The US is reducing diplomatic and military staffing in parts of the Middle East as threats from Iran and the Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen increase. The Houthis have repeatedly targeted Riyadh airport, which reopened Sunday for commercial flights.
“Several factors collide in the week ahead that could determine how the markets fare for the rest of 2026,” wrote Kyle Rodda, a senior analyst at Capital.com in Melbourne.
Corporate Highlights:
Elon Musk said SpaceX has closed a $40 billion debt deal to pay for the chips it needs to fuel its artificial intelligence ambitions. However, people familiar with the matter said the parties were still engaged in pricing discussions as of Sunday and the deal had not yet closed. Netflix Inc. users are watching the streaming service less than they once did, the latest sign of engagement woes for the world’s most valuable entertainment company, according to people familiar with the matter. SK Hynix Inc. plans to return about 80% of the gains from selling down its stake in Japan’s Kioxia Holdings Corp. to shareholders through a special dividend of about 16 trillion won ($12 billion), the DongA Ilbo newspaper reported. Volkswagen AG plans to build a new $4 billion factory for its premium Audi brand in the southern US state of Georgia. Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing Co. a printed circuit board maker, raised about HK$9.9 billion ($1.3 billion) in Hong Kong’s biggest listing in nearly two months. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 9:50 a.m. Tokyo time Hang Seng futures were little changed Japan’s Topix rose 0.6% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3% Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.2% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro rose 0.1% to $1.1216 The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 157.14 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.6684 per dollar The Australian dollar was little changed at $0.7030 Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 0.5% to $79,982.6 Ether fell 0.9% to $2,323.36 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.98% Japan’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.820% Australia’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 5.19% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.4% to $101.83 a barrel Spot gold fell 0.2% to $3,987.66 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
See more Swissinfo articles in your Google results. Learn more
