The Wall Street Wrap: October 20, 2026

The Dow gains 1% as oil falls and nine of 11 sectors rise, led by health care, while the Nasdaq slips, housing data show a deep freeze, and Netflix and Intuitive Surgical drop after hours

Welcome to Wall Street Wrap, your quick end-of-day rundown of what moved US markets today, plus what's shaping global sentiment overnight.

MARKETS TODAY

US stocks rose on Tuesday as upbeat earnings and a drop in oil prices outweighed lingering unease over AI-linked shares, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 1.02% to 52,495.88 and the S&P 500 adding 0.28% to 7,712.57. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.02% to 26,424.817 and the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.13% to 29,490.283, while the Russell 2000 gained 1.65% to 2,773.42 and the VIX fell 6.13% to 17.31. Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, led by health care at 2.33% and real estate at 1.69%, while information technology fell 0.34% and communication services 0.89%. 3M jumped 5.777% on better-than-expected results and a raised full-year outlook and Northrop Grumman gained 4.573% after an earnings beat, while General Motors fell 6.84% and GE Aerospace 3.666% despite beating forecasts. Pending home sales fell 7.3% in September and single-family housing starts dropped 4.56% to 859,000. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 2.3 basis points to 5.113%, crude oil slipped 0.37% to 98.179 after the November contract expired, Brent fell 0.48% to 109.024, and gold fell 0.48% to 4,121.08.

ANALYTICAL VIEW

Defensive and rate-sensitive groups did the lifting. Health care rose 2.33%, real estate 1.69%, utilities 1.15%, and financials 1.12%, while information technology fell 0.34% and communication services 0.89%, leaving the Nasdaq Composite little changed even as the Dow gained 1.02% and the Russell 2000 1.65%. Monday's AI rebound stalled, with Lam Research, Arm, and KLA falling between 2.8% and 3.2%, Apple losing 1.0%, and Microsoft slipping, although Western Digital rose 3.4% and Marvell Technology and CoreWeave each gained more than 1%. Sentiment had earlier taken a hit when Korean AI firm Elice fell more than 30% in its stock market debut, and one strategist said guidance on returns, data-center spending, and 2027 capital spending from the hyperscalers will matter more than headline earnings.

Weak housing data and cheaper oil gave bonds and cyclical sectors room. Pending home sales fell 7.3% in September against a forecast for a 0.4% decline, single-family starts dropped to their lowest since September 2025, and the 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 5.113%, helping real estate and utilities. West Texas Intermediate for November delivery touched $110.48 before settling at $101.79 on hopes for US-Iran diplomacy, and Brent settled at $108.79. Strong results were not enough for everyone, as GM and GE Aerospace fell after beating forecasts, while 3M's 5.8% jump showed the reward for a raised outlook.

What could change the picture: Whether Wednesday's results from Meta, Tesla, Lam Research, and IBM show AI spending paying off, and whether the 10-year yield, which eased to 5.113%, holds near 5.1% ahead of the Fed's October 27 to 28 meeting.

SECTOR PERFORMANCE

WINNERS & LOSERS

Top 5 Gainers (across S&P, Nasdaq, Dow):

• Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX): +11.333%
• Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS): +11.199%
• Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA): +6.695%
• 3M Company (NYSE:MMM): +5.777%
• Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT): +5.739%

Top 5 Decliners:

• General Motors Company (NYSE:GM): -6.84%
• DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA): -6.23%
• Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC): -5.116%
• Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX): -4.575%
• Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM): -3.818%

Note: 3M rose after better-than-expected earnings and a raised full-year outlook, and General Motors fell despite beating forecasts and announcing a $20 billion buyback; no specific cause was provided for the moves in Equifax, Hasbro, Moderna, Gartner, DaVita, Genuine Parts, Comfort Systems USA, or Howmet Aerospace.

AFTER-HOURS MOVERS

Gainers:

• Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI), +10.78% after hours: Shares rose to $35.97 and no cause was provided in the sources. The stock had closed 1.15% higher at $32.47, and its next results are expected around November 3.
• Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF), +6.67% after hours: Shares rose to $215.01 after third-quarter adjusted earnings of $6.69 a share beat the $5.50 estimate and revenue of $16.34 billion topped the $16.25 billion expected. Investors had been focused on credit quality, provisions, and progress integrating Discover after a six-week slide in bank stocks. The stock had closed 0.87% higher at $201.56.
• Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB), +5.82% after hours: Shares rose to $94.04 after third-quarter earnings of $2.58 a share beat the $2.38 estimate and revenue of $100.56 million topped the $97.05 million expected. The bank raised its quarterly dividend to $0.40 from $0.35 a day earlier, and investors will look to Wednesday's call for detail on credit quality, technology and AI spending, and deposit-funded loan growth. The stock had closed 2.70% higher at $88.87.
• Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL), +3.30% after hours: Shares rose to $477.00 and no cause was provided in the sources. The stock had closed 1.39% higher at $461.77 after trading ex-dividend for $0.63 a share.
• Space Exploration Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:SPCX), +2.52% after hours: Shares rose to $151.52 after third-quarter revenue grew 161% to $14.58 billion, against estimates of about $12.7 billion to $12.9 billion, and earnings were $0.35 a share, against about $0.13 to $0.14, though it is unclear whether the two earnings figures are comparable. The stock had closed 0.11% lower at $147.79.

Decliners:

• Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG), -10.96% after hours: Shares fell to $389.98 even though third-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.00 a share beat the $2.65 estimate and revenue of $3.05 billion topped the $2.91 billion expected. The company guided to 14% to 15% full-year da Vinci procedure growth, "closer to the midpoint," and a gross margin of 68.7% to 69.3% that includes a 0.9% tariff impact, and the sources do not confirm the cause of the decline. The stock had closed 1.11% higher at $438.00.
• Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), -5.14% after hours: Shares fell to $65.13, close to their 52-week low of $65.08, after third-quarter earnings of $0.87 a share beat the $0.82 estimate on revenue of $12.87 billion, in line with forecasts. Fourth-quarter guidance of $13.44 billion in revenue and $0.67 a share in earnings fell short of estimates of about $13.52 billion and $0.73, and the company cut its 2026 advertising revenue forecast to about $2.7 billion from about $3 billion. The stock had closed 1.70% lower at $68.66.
• Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA), -5.02% after hours: Shares fell to $34.41 after third-quarter non-GAAP earnings of $0.35 a share missed the $0.45 estimate and revenue of $393.36 million trailed the $421.06 million expected. Annual contract value rose 6% to $1.653 billion and Pega Cloud contract value climbed 20%, while management reiterated a target of $700 million or more of free cash flow in 2028. The stock had closed 3.40% higher at $36.23.
• United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL), -2.26% after hours: Shares fell to $95.56 after third-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.54 a share missed the $2.57 estimate on revenue of $17.88 billion, against $17.89 billion expected. The airline guided fourth-quarter earnings to $0.50 to $1.50 a share against the $1.76 analysts expected and said it expects to pay an average of $4.80 a gallon for fuel, up from $3.90 in the third quarter. The stock had closed 2.27% higher at $97.77.

COMMODITIES & RATES

US TREASURY YIELDS

TOP STORIES: US

SpaceX's AI business grows ninefold and Starlink adds subscribers in its latest quarter. Revenue at the unit the company now calls "Super Intelligence" rose to $7.56 billion from $813 million a year earlier, against the $6.47 billion analysts expected, while connectivity revenue jumped 69% to $5.25 billion, ahead of the $4.84 billion forecast, as Starlink's subscriber base grew to 13.6 million from 12 million in the prior quarter. Launch revenue edged up to $1.77 billion from $1.67 billion, and the company reported operating income of $2.8 billion and net income of $4.4 billion, against a net loss of $1.05 billion a year earlier, after closing its $60 billion purchase of AI coding startup Cursor. Attention is building around Starlink's plans for a US mobile network, after the company agreed this month to buy 800 MHz of low-band spectrum and the Federal Communications Commission approved a 15,000-satellite constellation.

Netflix says engagement remains "healthy" as investors press on viewing hours and strategy. The company said in its shareholder letter, "We know there's some investor concern about our view hours growth," and laid out a three-step plan to speed it up: more entertainment value, better use of technology, and improved monetization. It narrowed its 2026 revenue forecast to $51.1 billion, at the low end of its earlier range of $51 billion to $51.4 billion and below the $51.2 billion analysts expected. Last week's cut of about 6% of staff, or roughly 1,000 workers, will reduce fourth-quarter operating margin by about 120 basis points, and former Disney executive Peter Rice has replaced Bela Bajaria as chief content officer.

General Motors and GE Aerospace both beat forecasts, yet both stocks fall. GM beat on revenue and earnings, raised its free cash flow expectations, narrowed its 2026 guidance, and announced a new multiyear buyback of $20 billion with no timeframe, but its shares fell 6.84%. It expects commodity inflation costs of nearly $2 billion, the high end of earlier guidance, and said the costs of its electric-vehicle pullback were "substantially completed." GE Aerospace reported adjusted earnings of $2.25 a share against $2.01 expected on revenue of $13.29 billion and raised guidance across several measures, but free cash flow of $2.04 billion fell short of the $2.2 billion forecast, and its shares fell 3.666%.

Housing data show a deep freeze as pending home sales fall 7.3% and starts reach a one-year low. Pending home sales, which count signed contracts on existing homes, fell 7.3% in September from August and 11.3% from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors, missing a forecast for a 0.4% decline. Single-family housing starts fell 4.56% to an annualized 859,000, the lowest since September 2025, and building permits fell 4%, both much weaker than analysts had predicted. The 30-year mortgage rate started September near 6.8% and reached 7.6% by month's end, according to Mortgage News Daily, and one economist said he expects home construction to remain "moribund" into 2027.

The FAA certifies Boeing's 737 Max 10 after years of delays. The approval, announced Tuesday, makes the Max 10, which seats up to 230 people, the last model in Boeing's best-selling 737 Max family to win certification, years after it was due to start flying in 2020. It came weeks after federal officials reviewed a navigation-system glitch and judged it not a safety-of-flight issue. Boeing said the Max 10 makes up about 30% of its Max backlog, with customers including Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines, and its shares closed 0.496% lower.

Also today: Salesforce agreed to buy Braze for about $5.66 billion in cash at $47.50 a share, with the deal expected to close in fiscal 2028, and Braze shares jumped 51% to $45.57; Novo Nordisk said a post-trial analysis found its CagriSema obesity injection produced average weight loss of 25% at 68 weeks among about 2,300 women, against 3% on placebo, in an ideal scenario in which all patients stay on treatment, with a launch expected early next year; Northrop Grumman rose 4.573% after an earnings beat; and Hilton gained on its plan to move its stock listing to Nasdaq.

TOP STORIES: GLOBAL

Oil falls on hopes for US-Iran diplomacy, even as tanker attacks in the Strait of Hormuz escalate. West Texas Intermediate for November delivery fell 1.8% to settle at $101.79 a barrel on its expiry day, well below a session high of $110.48, while the December contract was down 26 cents at $98.28, and Brent for December delivery fell 0.7% to settle at $108.79 after touching $111.99. At least 18 vessels have come under fire in the past two weeks, according to ship tracker Kpler, and Iran's Revolutionary Guard said two "non-compliant" oil tankers were set ablaze after hitting mines laid by its navy. Iran's foreign ministry said it would respond to any American strike "in equal measure, if not more forcefully," while President Donald Trump has said US forces will not attack Iran before the November 3 midterm elections. One analyst said the US decision to exempt Russia's shadow fleet from sanctions could lower freight rates and bring US crude back into play as a replacement for Middle East grades.

France to deploy soldiers and impose fresh curfews as it braces for more unrest this weekend. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said forces from Sentinelle, the military operation created in 2015 after terrorist attacks, would take on mainly static security tasks, freeing police and gendarmes for law enforcement, while the prime minister promised a "massive" security presence on Saturday. Curfews covered parts of Paris and Lyon overnight, Lille and Nice imposed them for minors, and a business group said more than 3,000 shops have been sacked. Criticism is growing over President Emmanuel Macron's three-day Gulf tour, and one risk analyst said the damage could prove costlier than the 2023 riots, which generated about 1 billion euros of insured losses.

Asia-Pacific markets close lower, led by a 3.73% drop in South Korea's Kospi. The Kospi fell to 5,552.74, with SK Hynix down 4.23% and Samsung Electronics 2.98%, and the Kosdaq lost more than 3% to 781.97, on a day when Korean AI firm Elice tumbled more than 30% in its stock market debut, which weighed on technology sentiment. Japan's Nikkei 225 declined 1.3% to 64,075.42 and the Topix slid 1.43% to 4,009.21, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.33% to 8,816.9.

Britain sends Typhoon jets to defend Saudi Arabia, and UK pay growth edges above forecasts. The UK said it would send Royal Air Force Typhoons to help Saudi Arabia defend against Houthi drones and missiles, after attacks on Riyadh's airport that caused multiple deaths and on Saudi Aramco facilities, with the jets limited to defensive missions. Separately, UK wages excluding bonuses grew 3.7% in the three months to August, just above the 3.6% economists expected, ahead of an expected quarter-point rate rise by the Bank of England to 4% next month. The Bank is concerned that the energy price shock from the Iran war is feeding broader inflation, including through wages.

MANAGEMENT & FED SPEAK

Mary Barra, Chief Executive Officer, General Motors, on the third-quarter results:

Barra said in a letter to shareholders that "GM is performing well, and we are working hard to continue our momentum" despite growing inflationary pressures, citing investments in new products and services and improved quality and operating efficiency.

Scott Kirby, Chief Executive Officer, United Airlines, on the quarter:

Kirby said in the earnings release that "Our employees met the challenge of our ever-changing environment" and that the results show the resilience of building a brand-loyal airline. United's fuel bill rose almost 62% from a year earlier to $4.84 billion, but passenger counts were up more than 2%, and domestic unit revenue rose 14.5% while international rose 17.4%, a sign of higher fares.

Wes Streeting, Defense Secretary, United Kingdom, on the Houthi attacks:

Streeting called the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia "absolutely despicable" and said the targeting of Riyadh's airport "shows the lengths the Houthis are going to escalate the situation." He said Britain would also provide an Airbus A400M Atlas transport jet to move defense materiel within Saudi Arabia, along with military advisers for Saudi staff officers.

Sébastien Lecornu, Prime Minister, France, on the unrest:

Lecornu told parliament the government's objective is "an immediate return to order," and said curfews had contributed to a calm night across France. He said a support fund will be set up for businesses damaged or looted, and that the government will talk with insurers to speed up damage assessments.

CORPORATE ACTIONS & EARNINGS CALENDAR

Top Ex-Dividend Companies for Wednesday, October 21:

Earnings Reported After the Close (Tuesday, October 20):

Upcoming Earnings (Wednesday, October 21):

That's the wrap for today! Attention turns to Wednesday's results from Tesla, Meta, Lam Research, IBM, and Texas Instruments, how Netflix, Intuitive Surgical, and SpaceX trade at the open, and whether the 10-year Treasury yield holds near 5.11% with the Fed's October meeting less than a week away.