“The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.”

— Audrey Hepburn

DAILY RECAP

Friday, October 23rd

Wall Street Ends Week in Red

A Volatile Week Ends on a Sour Note as Oil Gains

S&P 500 – 7,623.68 (-0.52%)

Dow Jones – 52,215.16 (-1.23%)

NASDAQ – 25,955.34 (-0.21%)

TOP HEADLINES OF THE DAY

• Wall Street Ends Week in the Red as Oil Surges and AI Trade Wobbles: Major indexes closed lower Friday, with the Dow falling 1.23%, the S&P 500 losing 0.52%, and the Nasdaq slipping 0.21% as rising energy prices, inflation concerns, and uncertainty over AI spending weighed on sentiment.
• David’s Bridal Targets $350 Million Valuation for AI Wedding Platform Spinoff: The retailer plans to spin off Pearl as a standalone publicly traded company, projecting more than $85 million in 2027 revenue and seeking new opportunities for growth.
• Audi Announces $4 Billion Georgia Factory as Automakers Expand U.S. Production: The planned assembly plant is expected to produce up to 200,000 SUVs annually and create approximately 4,500 jobs, amid ongoing tariff pressures and efforts to localize manufacturing.

STOCKS MAKING MOVES

• Procter & Gamble (PG): Shares climbed more than 5% after fiscal first-quarter revenue rose 4% to $23.3 billion and adjusted earnings reached $2.00 per share, beating estimates. The company also raised its full-year sales growth outlook to 2%–4%.
• Amgen (AMGN): Promising late-stage trial results showed its Imdelltra combination with AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi reduced the risk of death by 58% in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, potentially strengthening the drug’s commercial outlook.
• Western Digital (WDC): Shares slipped despite better-than-expected earnings and revenue, higher guidance, and a dividend increase, reflecting continued pressure across technology stocks.
• Bloom Energy (BE): Shares fell despite quarterly results topping expectations and an improved outlook, extending pressure on companies tied to AI-driven energy demand.
• American Express (AXP): Shares declined despite better-than-expected earnings and an increase to its full-year earnings-per-share guidance.
• Deckers Outdoor (DECK): Shares dropped after the company lowered its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook, despite beating earnings-per-share estimates. Hoka and Ugg both recorded sequential declines for a second consecutive quarter.
• Moderna (MRNA): Shares extended losses after plunging nearly 20% Thursday, as investors reassessed cancer vaccine study results that appeared positive but may have fallen short of elevated expectations.
• Lam Research (LRCX): Shares faced pressure after earnings topped expectations but guidance merely met forecasts, disappointing investors looking for a stronger signal on semiconductor and AI spending.
• Semiconductor Stocks: SK Hynix, SanDisk (SNDK), and Micron (MU) moved higher as investors returned to select memory stocks following Thursday’s steep sell-off.

MARKET NOTABLES

• Oil Tops $103: WTI crude climbed above $103 per barrel, while European natural gas prices reached multi-year highs, renewing concerns about inflation and energy costs.
• AI Spending Under Scrutiny: Investors continued questioning whether massive AI infrastructure investments can generate sufficient returns, while technology corporate credit spreads widened to their highest levels since May 2025.
• Semiconductors Remain Under Pressure: The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index suffered its steepest daily decline in four months on Thursday and remained 26% below its June record high despite Friday’s partial recovery in select stocks.
• Geopolitical Risks Persist: Reports that the United States could be preparing another round of strikes against Iran following the midterm elections added to market uncertainty.
• Treasury Yields Edge Higher: Yields rose Friday after recently declining, removing some support that had helped cushion equity-market losses.
• Best Buy Expands Gaming Strategy: The retailer launched Best Buy Gamers, an online gaming community developed with IGN, ahead of major releases including The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake on November 5 and Grand Theft Auto VI on November 19.
• Next Week’s Catalysts: Traders will watch the Federal Reserve’s October 28 rate decision, Microsoft and Alphabet earnings that day, and Thursday’s third-quarter GDP and September PCE inflation reports, alongside results from Amazon and Intel.

WHAT TO WATCH

Investors will be watching upcoming results from major technology companies for evidence that revenue growth is accelerating, with Alphabet and Microsoft reporting October 28, followed by Amazon and Intel on October 29.

October 26: Expected earnings from Verizon (VZ), Welltower (WELL), Cadence Design Systems (CDNS), Nucor (NUE), and Public Storage (PSA).

October 27: September durable goods, October Consumer Confidence, September new home sales, and expected earnings from Coca-Cola (KO), Novartis (NVS), Boeing (BA), Corning (GLW), Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), HCA Healthcare (HCA), Johnson Controls (JCI), American Tower (AMT), United Parcel Service (UPS), Visa (V), Seagate (STX), Waste Management (WM), NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), Baker Hughes (BKR), and Teradyne (TER).

October 28: FOMC rate decision and expected earnings from Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), T-Mobile (TMUS), ServiceNow (NOW), GE Vernova (GEV), Amphenol (APH), UBS (UBS), Phillips 66 (PSX), and Vertiv (VRT).

October 29: Third quarter GDP, September PCE prices, September core PCE prices, and expected earnings from Amazon (AMZN), Eli Lilly (LLY), Intel (INTC), Sandisk (SNDK), Gilead Sciences (GILD), Mastercard (MA), Merck (MRK), Caterpillar (CAT), Shell (SHEL), Anheuser-Busch Inbev (BUD), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Altria (MO), Stryker (SYK), Starbucks (SBUX), and Mondelez (MDLZ).

October 30: Expected earnings from ExxonMobil (XOM), AbbVie (ABBV), Chevron (CVX), BP (BP), Sanofi (SNY), and General Dynamics (GD).