Wall Street Wrap: Pre-Market, October 21, 2026

SpaceX surges on blowout earnings and Tesla merger talks, Super Micro jumps on a surprise guidance lift, and Netflix and AT&T slide

Wall Street looks set for a higher open on Wednesday as blowout results from the rocket maker and a surprise upbeat update from an AI server maker lift AI-linked stocks, offsetting sharp pre-market drops in Netflix and AT&T.

Futures Snapshot

Futures were higher early Wednesday, with the Nasdaq leading the gains as AI-linked names recovered and the VIX fell.

What's Driving the Open

Wall Street is coming off a mixed Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained about 1% to 52,495.88, helped by a 5% jump in 3M (NYSE:MMM) after it raised its full-year profit guidance, while the S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 7,712.57 and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.02%. Futures point higher as the rocket maker's third-quarter results, including a 161% jump in revenue and a confirmation that it and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) have formed committees to explore a merger, revive appetite for AI-linked shares, which have been weighed down by worries about debt-funded data-center spending. A surprise guidance increase from an AI server maker added to the lift. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and Tesla both report after the close, and investors are looking for insight into the AI trade. Christian Mueller-Glissmann of Goldman Sachs Research expects earnings support, lighter positioning and lower valuations to help equities into year-end, though he warns of near-term volatility from AI concerns, Middle East tensions and the midterm elections.

Rates and oil remain in focus. Treasury yields are steady near 5.1% on the 10-year ahead of the Fed's Oct. 27-28 meeting, and mortgage rates fell for the first time in 11 weeks, though applications kept falling. Brent crude is hovering near its highest levels since May as attacks on Gulf shipping and Saudi facilities continue. Overseas, France's 10-year bond yield touched 5% for the first time since 2002.

What could change the picture: Weak guidance from Tesla or Meta after the close would revive worries about AI spending, further attacks on Gulf shipping would push oil higher, and a renewed surge in French and U.S. bond yields would pressure equity valuations.

Overnight Markets

In Asia, South Korea's Kospi jumped 3.29% to 5,735.66, rebounding from Tuesday's slide, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 1.38% to 792.76. Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.85% to 64,621.24 and the Topix rose 0.86% to 4,043.73, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.16% to 8,831.3. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.92% in its last hour of trade. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 added 0.4%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.4% and Germany's DAX was last seen 0.5% higher.

Pre-Market Movers

Rates, FX & Crypto

Longer-dated yields eased slightly as investors waited for fresh data ahead of next week's Fed decision, while the front end was little changed. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell 9 basis points to 7.41% in the week ended Oct. 16, the first decline in 11 weeks, but total mortgage applications fell 5.3%, a seventh straight weekly drop and the lowest level since January 2025. In Europe, France's 10-year yield touched 5.002%, a 24-year high, and its premium over German Bunds is around 157 basis points, nearing levels last seen in 2011. Bitcoin is up about 0.6% to roughly $83,450 after rebounding from lows near $81,000, with about $125 million of shorts liquidated as strong tech earnings lifted risk appetite. Spot bitcoin ETFs took in $526.7 million on Monday, the largest daily inflow since September, and analysts say the coin must reclaim $84,000 before the Fed meeting to break out of its $80,000 to $87,000 range.

Commodities

Oil has given back its early gains and is roughly flat near $98 for WTI and $109 for Brent. Earlier, WTI futures were up 1.25% at $99.04 and December Brent briefly touched $111, a level not seen since May, on Middle East supply fears. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said mines prevented three tankers from crossing the Strait of Hormuz on routes Tehran deemed unauthorized, with two set ablaze, and Yemen's Houthis claimed strikes on Saudi Aramco facilities and airports. A 4.9 million barrel crude draw reported by the American Petroleum Institute also supports prices, and prices swung on unverified rumors of a U.S.-Iran deal that a diplomat later dismissed. Shipping costs have soared, with the average crude freight rate above $20 a barrel against $3 a year earlier, according to Goldman Sachs, which says war-risk premiums for Hormuz account for about $7 of the rise. Natural gas is the weak spot, down 3.37%, while silver and copper slipped and gold is steady near $4,125.

Key Levels & Catalysts Today

Economic data

• Mortgage Bankers Association data showed applications fell 5.3% last week, with purchase applications down 7.3% and refinancing down 2%.
• The Fed meets Oct. 27-28, and traders are watching for signals on rates.

Corporate

• Tesla and Meta Platforms report after the close. IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) also report Wednesday.
• Alpha Teknova's offering is expected to close on or about Oct. 22, and Super Micro Computer's full results are due Nov. 3.
• Jio Platforms' $3.2 billion IPO is open for bids, with trading expected to start Oct. 28.

Top Stories

France's borrowing costs hit 5% for the first time since 2002. The 10-year government bond yield touched 5.002% on Wednesday and was last up about 8 basis points on the day, just below 5%. Investors worry about a weakened government trying to pass a budget and cut a deficit forecast at 5.4% of GDP this year, while protests over education and the cost of living have turned into riots and looting. A contested election next year adds to the uncertainty, and a run on French bonds is not inconceivable.

Trump tells data-center builders to share the wealth. The president urged data-center companies to "MAKE DEALS" with local communities, including paying a dividend to the community or its residents, and said large new centers must generate their own electricity and sell any excess back to the grid. Nebius (NASDAQ:NBIS) said it is already discussing ways to invest in communities. Public opposition to the facilities is growing ahead of November's midterms, with multiple states weighing moratoriums, and data-center stocks have been under pressure this week over the sector's rising debt.

Anthropic's draft IPO filing shows an $80.7 billion first-half loss. Most of the loss reflects a $72 billion accounting charge from a rise in the fair value of convertible bonds rather than cash costs, and the company spent nearly $9 billion on computing capacity and infrastructure in the half. It has committed to at least $518 billion of cloud, compute and infrastructure spending over a decade. The company is expected to list in November, and some investors are weighing a lower valuation near $1.5 trillion. A cool reception could weigh on the wider AI market.

Witkoff meets Putin in St Petersburg to push for a revival of Ukraine peace talks. In their ninth in-person meeting, the U.S. envoy urged Putin to resume U.S.-mediated talks, and Russia released a retired American teacher in a goodwill gesture. Putin offered help with Iran and fertiliser supplies for American farmers, and wants to discuss a possible meeting with Trump in China next month that could include Xi Jinping. Kyiv and its allies remain worried that Washington is backing away, after complaints of disrupted intelligence-sharing.

India's largest IPO is oversubscribed within hours. Jio Platforms' $3.2 billion offering, the first from Mukesh Ambani's Reliance in two decades, was fully subscribed in under two hours and drew bids for more than double the shares on offer by early afternoon. Institutional investors bid 4.9 times their portion, while retail investors, for whom about a third of the issue is reserved, bid 0.54 times. The IPO values the telecom operator at up to $108.3 billion, and Meta is among its backers.

Eyes on Tesla and Meta earnings after the close, on whether AI-linked stocks hold their gains, and on oil and Treasury yields ahead of next week's Fed decision.