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MARKET BRIEFING · US

With oil above $100, it was old-economy large caps rather than tech that took the hit.

October 23, 2026 · Read the Korean original

Major indices

  • Dow 52,215.16 -1.23%
  • S&P 500 7,623.68 -0.52%
  • Nasdaq 25,955.34 -0.21%
  • PHLX Semiconductor +0.40%

What moved U.S. markets overnight was oil, not earnings. With fears growing that the U.S.-Iran conflict could flare up again, West Texas Intermediate futures settled 3.8% higher at $103.27 a barrel, and Brent reached its highest level since June 2022, according to The Washington Times. With inflation still running above 3%, another jump in energy prices made it harder for the bond market to lean toward rate cuts. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.99% from 4.96% a day earlier, undoing in a single session its first drop below 5% in a month. The same report says the market expects the Federal Open Market Committee to hold next week while leaning toward a hike in December.

The indexes split. Technology shares, which had collapsed a day earlier on doubts about AI spending, caught their breath, while old-economy large caps sensitive to oil and rates took the hit instead. The Dow closed 1.23% lower at 52,215.16 and the S&P 500 fell 0.52% to 7,623.68, while the Nasdaq held up better with a 0.21% decline to 25,955.34. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 0.4%, clawing back part of the previous day's drop of more than 6%. Much of the Dow's decline came from names far removed from AI, such as Home Depot and Coca-Cola, which says a lot about the character of the session.

Energy was the only clear upside in the sector map. Schlumberger (SLB, oilfield services) jumped more than 7% and Halliburton (HAL, oilfield services) added 6%, while Chevron (CVX, oil major) and Exxon Mobil set fresh record highs. After U.S. security agencies warned about PHP vulnerabilities, CrowdStrike (CRWD, cybersecurity) and Palo Alto Networks each gained around 6%. Telecom went the other way: on reports that SpaceX (SPCX, launch and satellite communications) is preparing to become a wireless carrier, AT&T (T, telecom services) and T-Mobile fell close to 5% premarket, while Crown Castle (CCI, telecom infrastructure REIT) surged 11.65% on hopes it could lease out cell sites. American Express (AXP, credit cards) dropped more than 3%, dragging the Dow, after disclosing a 5% cut to its global workforce and a $336 million restructuring charge.

The part worth watching more closely is the funding that has underpinned AI capital spending. CNBC reported that shares of newer cloud providers such as CoreWeave (CRWV, GPU cloud), Nebius (NBIS, AI cloud) and IREN have each fallen well over 30% in October alone, and that credit default swap spreads on Meta, Oracle and Nvidia bonds have widened to their widest levels ever. Bloom Energy (BE, fuel-cell power) fits the same pattern: it beat third-quarter estimates and raised guidance, yet fell 11% on negative cash flow and heavy capital spending. SK Hynix shelving the U.S. listing of its Solidigm unit shows much the same thing about how stingy the market has turned toward new AI-related funding.

Three threads are worth watching together in the next Korean session. For memory, the withdrawal of the Solidigm listing removes the overhang of a duplicate listing and U.S. memory names trimmed their losses, leaving room for sentiment to recover, but the doubts about AI spending that caused the prior day's slide have not been resolved. Refining and chemicals face both sides of oil above $100, a help to refining margins and a burden on input costs. Power infrastructure still carries data-center demand expectations, but the Bloom Energy case shows how much more closely cash flow is now being scrutinized. The index, oil and yield figures are confirmed by reporting; how this flows into Korean equities remains a matter of interpretation.

Korean industries to watch today

  • Semiconductors · Solidigm's shelved U.S. listing and steadier U.S. memory names leave room for sentiment to recover
  • Chemicals & refining · Oil above $100 brings both refining-margin hopes and higher input costs
  • Power infrastructure · Data-center demand hopes persist, but cash flow is being scrutinized more closely

Watchlist stocks in the news

  • Bloom Energy (BE) Close -11.14% · Fell sharply as negative cash flow and heavy capex overshadowed a third-quarter beat and raised guidance. (TheStreet)
  • Western Digital (WDC) · Traded lower premarket despite strong results released after Thursday's close, as memory sentiment cooled. (CNBC)
  • SpaceX (SPCX) · Rose premarket on reports it is preparing to become a wireless carrier, plus a Wall Street upgrade. (CNBC)
  • CoreWeave (CRWV) · Stayed weak during the session as funding pressure on newer cloud providers drew attention. (Yahoo Finance)
  • Nebius (NBIS) · Edged up intraday with a broader cloud rebound rather than on any company-specific news. (Yahoo Finance)
  • CVX (CVX) Close +2.40% · Climbed with the oil rally and set a fresh record high alongside Exxon Mobil. (The Washington Times)
  • SLB (SLB) · Jumped intraday as oil topped $100 on Middle East tensions, lifting hopes for oilfield services demand. (CNBC)
  • CRWD (CRWD) · Rose about 6% intraday as security names rallied after U.S. agencies warned of PHP vulnerabilities. (CNBC)
  • T (T) · Fell with other telecom names on reports SpaceX could become a wireless carrier. (CNBC)
  • AXP (AXP) · Dropped more than 3% intraday after announcing a roughly 5% global workforce cut and a $336 million charge. (CNBC)
  • CCI (CCI) Close +11.65% · Surged on reports that SpaceX is in direct talks to lease access to its U.S. cell sites. (TheStreet)
  • DECK (DECK) Close -8.38% · Fell after fiscal second-quarter revenue missed expectations on soft HOKA and UGG sales. (TheStreet)
  • MRNA (MRNA) · Still weak premarket after a 25% slide on Thursday tied to a leak of partial cancer-vaccine data with Merck. (CNBC)

Sources (Korean-language)

This market briefing was compiled by AI from this site's own price and filing data together with public news reports, and translated from the Korean original. Please check the sources below before relying on it.

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