United States stocks rose on October 26, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.7% to 7,676.77, the Nasdaq Composite up 0.82% to 26,169.38 and the Dow up 0.28% to 52,361.58, as technology shares recovered and oil prices eased.
United States stocks advanced on Monday, October 26, with technology shares leading a recovery from the previous week's declines. The S&P 500 rose 0.70% to 7,676.77, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.82% to 26,169.38 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.28% to 52,361.58. The Russell 2000 rose about 0.4% to 2,786.42.
Semiconductors led the advance, with Nvidia up 2.39% and Micron up 2.98%, after Anthropic filed papers for a public listing. Tesla rose 5.21% to $391.62 and Intel gained 4.04% to $90.47. Communication services was the weakest sector: Meta fell 1.88% after unveiling a plan to raise up to $95 billion for artificial-intelligence infrastructure, Netflix fell 2.96% and Alphabet fell 1.06%. Petrobras fell about 14% after Lula da Silva's runoff victory in Brazil.
Oil gave back part of last week's surge as Saudi and Iranian officials held talks. Brent crude settled at $115.81 a barrel, down 0.78%, and West Texas Intermediate settled at $101.76, down 1.46%. The 10-year United States Treasury yield held at 5.00%.
The index closes match across the Associated Press closing report carried by the Fool and the Reuters-based market wrap, and the oil settlements agree across both. The rebound follows a weak prior week in which the S&P 500 fell 0.5% and the Nasdaq fell 0.7%, so Monday's session is best read as a recovery within a volatile month rather than a settled turn in sentiment.
The stakes this week are set by the calendar. The Federal Reserve meets on October 27 and 28, with markets pricing only about a 12.7% chance of a rate rise at that meeting according to CME FedWatch data cited by Reuters, and more than a third of S&P 500 companies report earnings this week, including Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon. Expensive oil and a 5% 10-year yield are the two forces most likely to decide whether the rebound holds.
If earnings or the Fed decision disappoint, the same technology shares that led Monday's rise are the most exposed. If they hold up, Monday's close will look like the point at which the market stopped falling and started waiting for data instead.