“This too shall pass.”

— Traditional proverb

 

DAILY RECAP

Friday, October 16th

 

Chip Wreck

Tech Leads Wall Street's Weekly Retreat

 

S&P 500 – 7,659.44 (-1.09%)

Dow Jones – 52,002.41 (-0.34%)

NASDAQ – 26,140.03 (-2.14%)

 

TOP HEADLINES OF THE DAY

 

Tech Gets Torched as AI Fears Deepen — Technology and semiconductor stocks dragged Wall Street lower Friday as investors questioned AI spending and debt-fueled growth. The Nasdaq plunged 2.14%, marking its worst weekly performance since late June.

Industrial Production Beats Forecasts — U.S. industrial production climbed 0.7% in September, topping expectations for a 0.4% gain and delivering its strongest monthly increase in five months.

Earnings Season Brings Early Encouragement — Corporate results have started on a strong note, with 85% of reporting S&P 500 companies beating earnings estimates as investors look for signs of broader profit growth.

 

STOCKS MAKING MOVES

 

CoreWeave (CRWV) — Shares tumbled nearly 12% Friday as concerns over borrowing costs and debt exposure weighed on the AI infrastructure company, extending its recent slide.

Strategy (MSTR) — The stock dropped nearly 10% after MSCI proposed changes that could exclude certain non-operating companies from its indexes, potentially triggering selling from index-tracking funds.

Apple (AAPL) — The company drew attention after launch-day pickup availability for its new foldable iPhone Duo sold out, with some delivery estimates pushed back to January.

Moderna (MRNA) — Shares fell nearly 9% following a massive year-to-date rally. Goldman Sachs raised its price target but maintained a Neutral rating.

Semiconductor Stocks — Memory-chip and other chipmakers remained under pressure as investors continued reassessing the outlook for AI-related spending and financing.

Tesla (TSLA) — Shares climbed following the company's Roadster reveal, putting the electric-vehicle maker in focus ahead of its upcoming earnings report.

Alcoa (AA) — Shares advanced after the aluminum producer reported better-than-expected earnings.

Netflix (NFLX) — Shares declined amid leadership changes involving its chief content officer and plans to cut approximately 1,000 jobs.

 

MARKET NOTABLES

 

Major Indexes Finish Lower: The S&P 500 fell 1.09% Friday to 7,659.44, the Nasdaq dropped 2.14% to 26,140.03, and the Dow slipped 0.34% to 52,002.41.

Weekly Performance Diverges: The Nasdaq lost 4.5% for the week, while the S&P 500 declined 1.95%. The Dow bucked the trend with a weekly gain of 0.7%.

Treasury Yields Ease: Bond yields moved lower as traders scaled back expectations for a near-term Federal Reserve rate hike following recent inflation data.

Oil Prices Climb: Middle East disruptions helped push Brent crude to around $110 a barrel and U.S. crude above $100, keeping energy prices and inflation risks on investors' radar.

Deficit Nears $2 Trillion: The U.S. federal budget deficit for fiscal 2026 reached $1.992 trillion, highlighting continued pressure on government finances.

Next Week's Earnings in Focus: Tesla, Meta Platforms, Netflix, IBM, and numerous major companies across industrials, technology, healthcare, and financials are set to report.

Economic Data Ahead: Housing starts, building permits, manufacturing and services PMIs, and the final University of Michigan consumer sentiment reading will offer fresh clues about economic momentum.

 

EARNINGS SPOTLIGHT

 

Tesla will report its Q3 2026 financial results on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, after the market closes, with a conference call scheduled for 5:30 PM Eastern Time. Analysts expect roughly $28.04 billion to $27.8–$27.9 billion in revenue which is slightly down or flat compared to the same period last year. Consensus forecasts project adjusted diluted EPS of approximately $0.43 to $0.44.  

WHAT TO WATCH

 

Earnings season picks up next week, with Tesla, Meta Platforms (META), IBM (IBM), and Netflix (NFLX) scheduled to report. 

 

October 19: Expected earnings from Fifth Third (FITB).

October 20: Expected earnings from GE Aerospace (CE), RTX (RTX), 3M (MMM), General Motors (GM), Northrop Grumman (NOC), Halliburton (HAL), Netflix (NFLX), Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), Chubb (CB), Capital One (COF), and United Airlines (UAL), and September housing starts and building permits.

October 21: Expected earnings from Meta Platforms (META), Tesla (TSLA), Lam Research (LRCX), Texas Instruments (TXN), Philip Morris (PM), Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), NextEra Energy (NEE), Danaher (DHR), AT&T (T), CME Group (CME), Vertiv (VRT), Elevance Health (ELV), Moody's (MCO), SAP SE (SAP), IBM (IBM), CSX (CSX), United Rentals (URI), and Teradyne (TER).

October 22: Expected earnings from Procter & Gamble (PG), Union Pacific (UNP), Valero Energy (VLO), Blackstone (BX), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Spotify (SPOT), Barclays (BCS), Comcast (CMCSA), Norfolk Southern (NSC), Honeywell (HON), Western Digital (WDC), Newmont (NEM), Bloom Energy (BE), VeriSign (VRSN), and Deckers Outdoor (DECK).

October 23: October S&P Global U.S. manufacturing and services PMIs, October final University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment, and expected earnings from American Express (AXP), Illinois Tool Works (ITW), SLB (SLB).