Week of Monday, October 26, 2026

Stocks closed broadly higher Monday as Anthropic's IPO filing boosted technology and AI names. Tuesday saw the broader market leave Big Tech behind after a historic comeback, with Boeing shares sliding on a disappointing cash flow update. Wednesday brought the Fed's rate decision, which kept its policy-rate target at 3.75%–4.00% on a 10-2 vote. Thursday saw the Nasdaq close sharply lower as Alphabet's slide weighed on the market after its earnings disappointment. So far Friday, the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones trade as investors digest earnings news, a $6.3 billion crypto hack and revived Trump rally activity. The Treasury's 10-year yield closed Thursday at 4.98%, down 7 bp on the day.

**What has moved markets so far this week:** Stocks closed Monday on broad gains, as Anthropic's IPO filing boosted technology and AI names, with Microsoft offering voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees. Tuesday finished with the broader market leaving Big Tech behind after a historic comeback, while Boeing slid on a disappointing cash flow update. Wednesday, the Federal Reserve kept its policy-rate target at 3.75%–4.00% on a 10-2 vote. Thursday, the Nasdaq closed sharply lower as Alphabet's slide weighed on the market after its earnings disappointment, with Alphabet shares plunging nearly 13% for their worst day ever. **Today:** The session is in progress, weighed by a $6.3 billion hack at Binance and a slowdown of euro-zone growth to 0.4% in Q3.

**Mid-Week Briefing: October 26–30, 2026** **What Has Moved Markets This Week** Stocks closed Monday on broad gains, as Anthropic's IPO filing boosted technology and AI names, with Microsoft offering voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees amid an AI-driven efficiency push. Tuesday saw the broader market leave Big Tech behind after a historic comeback, while Boeing slid on a disappointing cash flow update and Robinhood fell 4% on crypto weakness. Wednesday, the Federal Reserve kept its policy-rate target at 3.75%–4.00% on a 10–2 vote. Thursday, the Nasdaq closed sharply lower as Alphabet shares plunged nearly 13% for their worst day ever, losing $500 billion in value, with Intel falling 21% and ServiceNow dropping 27%; US GDP grew a better-than-expected 3.4% in the third quarter. **Today** Friday's session has not opened yet; US stocks face a turbulent premarket as Amazon and Intel are set to plunge after disappointing earnings, down 7% and 25% respectively in premarket trading. **What Remains This Week** Attention turns to next Friday's US jobs report.

The week so far has been defined by the Federal Reserve's decision and Thursday's tech-led selloff. Monday's session closed on broad gains as Anthropic's IPO filing boosted technology and AI names. On Wednesday, October 28, the Federal Reserve kept its policy-rate target at 3.75%-4.00% on a 10-2 vote. Thursday's session closed sharply lower as Alphabet plunged nearly 13% for its worst day ever, losing $500 billion in value, while Intel fell 21% and ServiceNow dropped 27%. Thursday also brought the US PCE inflation report, released as the Fed's preferred gauge, and a better-than-expected 3.4% GDP reading. Friday's session follows today's PCE release.

The S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones closed Thursday as the session ended. Intel sank over 15% on a PC-slowdown outlook, Amazon fell after an earnings miss and rising AI spending, Alphabet dropped nearly 13% for its worst day ever, and ServiceNow plunged 27% as AI disruption fears resurfaced. The day also featured a 3.4% Q3 GDP rise and September inflation accelerated. Earlier in the week, stocks closed Monday on broad gains as Anthropic's IPO filing boosted technology and AI names, while Microsoft offered voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees. The Federal Reserve kept its policy-rate target at 3.75%–4.00% on Wednesday on a 10-2 vote, and the US PCE inflation report was released Thursday.

Monday closed with broad gains as Anthropic’s IPO filing lifted tech and AI names and Microsoft’s voluntary buyout offers buoyed sentiment, while JetBlue posted a larger loss but its CEO said margins were improving. Tuesday the market left Big Tech behind after a historic comeback, oil’s triple‑top hinted a waning rally, Boeing slipped on a weak cash‑flow update, Robinhood fell 4% on crypto weakness, and Coca‑Cola raised its earnings outlook. Wednesday the Fed held its policy‑rate at 3.75‑4.00 % on a 10‑2 vote, Lumentum rallied on Marvell‑sale rumours, and DoorDash signaled a deal to buy Instacart. Thursday's session opened lower on mixed earnings and inflation data, with Alphabet down about 12% and Amazon set to report Q3 earnings after the bell. Friday, October 30 will be the next trading day.

U.S. stocks closed Monday on broad gains as Anthropic's IPO filing boosted technology and AI names, with Microsoft offering voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees. Tuesday finished with the broader market leaving Big Tech behind after a historic comeback, as Boeing shares slid on a disappointing cash flow update and Robinhood fell 4% on crypto weakness. The Federal Reserve kept its policy-rate target at 3.75%–4.00% Wednesday on a 10-2 vote, saying it supports the dual mandate. Thursday's session is in progress, with the European Central Bank holding its key rate at 2.5% and Eli Lilly raising its outlook for the third time this year on Zepbound demand. DoorDash agreed to acquire Instacart for $17 billion, and the 10-year Treasury yield ended Wednesday at 5.05%. The US PCE inflation report, the Fed's preferred gauge, was released Thursday.

**What has moved markets this week.** Stocks closed Monday on broad gains after Anthropic's IPO filing boosted technology and AI names, and Microsoft offered voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees. Tuesday saw the broader market leave Big Tech behind after a historic comeback, while Boeing slid on a disappointing cash flow update and Robinhood fell 4% on crypto weakness. Wednesday, the Federal Reserve kept its policy-rate target at 3.75%–4.00% on a 10-2 vote. **Today.** Thursday's session has not opened yet; the US PCE inflation report, the Fed's preferred gauge, is due today. Alphabet fell 10% in premarket trading on course for its biggest ever post-earnings drop. **What remains this week.** The European Central Bank announces its policy decision Thursday, and Friday's session is ahead.

The Federal Reserve kept its policy-rate target at 3.75%–4.00% on a 10-2 vote on Wednesday, supporting the dual mandate, while all eyes turn to Thursday's US PCE inflation report. Stocks closed Monday on broad gains as Anthropic's IPO filing boosted technology and AI names, with Microsoft offering voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees. Tuesday saw the broader market leave Big Tech behind after a historic comeback, with Boeing sliding on a disappointing cash flow update and Robinhood falling 4% on crypto weakness. Lumentum rallied Wednesday on rumours of a sale to Marvell, while DoorDash signaled a deal to buy Instacart as early as Thursday. US Treasury yields at Wednesday's close saw the 10-year at 5.05%, up 6 bp from Tuesday. Thursday brings the US PCE inflation report, the Fed's preferred gauge.

Monday’s broad gains, driven by Anthropic’s IPO filing that lifted tech and AI stocks, Microsoft’s announcement of voluntary buyouts for 60,000 employees, and JetBlue’s loss report with improving margin comments, gave way on Tuesday to a slip behind Big Tech after a historic oil‑price triple‑top, as Boeing shares fell on weak cash‑flow, Robinhood dropped 4% on crypto weakness, and Coca‑Cola raised its earnings outlook despite soft demand. Wednesday closed higher after the Fed kept its target range at 3.75‑4.00% on a 10‑2 vote, Chair Warsh noting an “information‑rich” period; Alphabet fell 10% on unchanged 2026 capex and a larger 2027 plan, Microsoft rose 4% on cloud growth, and the 10‑year Treasury yield finished at 5.05%. Thursday the U.S. PCE inflation report and the European Central Bank’s policy decision are scheduled. Friday has no scheduled releases.