📈 TL;DR – Last Week in 60 Seconds
Stocks ended the week higher as investors looked past trade headlines and steadied around earnings season. Gold surged above $4,300/oz midweek before cooling, oil slipped, the dollar softened, and the 10-year Treasury yield hovered near ~4%. Bitcoin fell about 5% week-over-week, with October shaping up as its worst “Uptober” since 2015. Ahead: roughly 80 S&P 500 companies report (Tesla, Netflix), plus the delayed CPI on Oct 24—both could sway expectations for when the U.S. central bank cuts rates.
Quick Levels → Last week’s change
S&P 500: 6,664.01 | ↑0.63%
Nasdaq 100: 24,817.95 | ↑0.78%
Dow: 46,190.61 | ↑1.08%
Russell 2000: 2,452.17 | ↑1.20%
Gold (oz): $4,237.88 | ↑5.45%
Bitcoin (BTC): $108,658.20 | ↓5.57%
DXY (U.S. Dollar Index): 98.54 | ↓0.40%
Source: Serene Lee/Getty Images
🚀 Top Movers Last Week
Walmart (WMT) ↑5.78% — Shares popped after unveiling a ChatGPT shopping tie-in with OpenAI.
American Express (AXP) ↑9.60% — Beat on earnings; raised outlook as affluent card spend stayed strong.
Broadcom (AVGO) ↑7.61% — Rallied on OpenAI pact to deploy 10 GW of custom AI accelerators; AI infrastructure trade stayed hot.
Alphabet (GOOGL) ↑6.86% — Headlines on a $24B AI build-out lifted sentiment ahead of earnings.
Newmont (NEM) ↑6.61% — Gold hit fresh records, pulling miners higher despite a late-week bullion fade.
🗺 Market Map
AI capex wave: OpenAI’s Broadcom deal for custom accelerators reinforced multi-year spending on chips and networking. Watch foundries, Ethernet gear, and power suppliers as build-outs begin in 2026.
Macro backdrop eased, slightly. Hopes for calmer U.S.–China trade tone helped risk appetite early in the week, though policy headlines remain swingy. Markets stay sensitive to tariff chatter and export controls.
Regional-bank fraud flare-up: Zions’ $50M charge-off and Western Alliance’s fraud lawsuit hit sentiment, knocking the regional-bank index and reviving 2023-style stress questions. Watch deposit trends and regulator commentary for spillover risk.
Earnings + data gauntlet: Tesla, Netflix and industrial bellwethers headline; CPI lands Friday amid trade‐talk headlines. Treasuries steady near ~4% on the 10-year as polls flag limited long-end relief.
Gold’s surge: Bullion jumped above $4,300/oz, its biggest weekly rise since 2008; miners rallied but looked frothy into Friday. Near-term consolidation risk rises if real yields firm.
🛒 Buy Zone
Long-term investors — Consider a small tilt toward Consumer Staples* or Utilities as portfolio ballast. Falling 10-year yields near ~4% reduce pressure on “bond-like” sectors, improving relative appeal. Staples have lagged lately, which can aid entry, while utilities often stabilize when growth jitters rise. AI data centers and grid upgrades are pushing U.S. power demand higher, catalyzing multi-year spending plans by utilities. Risk: a quick jump in bond yields or political pushback on rate cases.
Short-term traders — Expect choppy moves around private reports and earnings commentary. Look for “first pullback after breakout” on strong-volume winners, and “failed bounce” shorts on laggards. Keep stops tight; headlines can gap prices both ways this week.
💡 Signal Spotlight
Trading in a Data Vacuum.
Key U.S. data are delayed, so private PMIs, earnings guidance, and market-implied signals carry extra weight. Expect sharper swings around Thursday’s Treasury auctions and Friday’s CPI (delayed) print. Use a simple playbook: triangulate PMIs + guidance + price action, time-stamp views ahead of CPI, and respect ranges to avoid whipsaws. When official numbers resume, be ready for a quick reset in yields, dollar, and sector leadership.
👀 What to Watch
All week — Corporate earnings: gauge pricing power and consumer trade-downs.
Mon, Oct 20 – Conference Board LEI: Timely read on growth momentum; weakness would validate softer-yield narrative.
Tue, Oct. 21 — Netflix earnings: Ad-tier traction and subs guide risk appetite for growth stocks.
Wed, Oct. 22 — Tesla earnings: Margins, energy/storage, and autonomy commentary drive mega-cap tone.
Thu, Oct. 23 — Existing Home Sales (NAR): Housing turnover and affordability pulse; unaffected by shutdown.
Thu, Oct. 23 — Weekly Jobless Claims **: Labor read; may be delayed during shutdown.
Fri, Oct. 24 — September CPI **: Delayed to Oct 24; sets tone for yields and rate-cut odds.
Fri, Oct 24 — Flash PMI*: First October read on activity/prices ahead of GDP/PCE next week. Key when government data are dark.
**Data may be delayed due to government shutdown.
📚 Decoder
Consumer Staples (sector): Everyday goods: food, beverages, household, personal care.
CPI (Consumer Price Index): Monthly inflation gauge for household goods/services.
Flash PMI: Early-month survey snapshot of business activity and prices.
PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index): Survey measuring growth above 50, contraction below.
🕔 That’s your 5-minute guide to start the week. There’s more info out there…dive in! News is free; risk isn’t.
We’ll be back to check-in on Thursday at 7 AM ET.
Educational only—not investment advice.
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