What are today's top business/market headlines?

The top business and financial market headlines following the close of the trading week on Friday, October 23, 2026 include:

1. Market Wrap: Tech Slumps as "AI Capex Jitters" Spark a Split Market

U.S. stock indexes ended the week on a downward trend, primarily dragged down by a sharp sell-off in mega-cap technology and artificial intelligence (AI) stocks.

•The AI Capex Shift: Investors are increasingly concerned that the massive capital expenditure (capex) boom on AI infrastructure and data centers may be peaking. In Q3 earnings calls, Meta Platforms left its massive capex guidance unchanged, while Tesla reduced its full-year capex guidance by 20%. The news triggered fears that growth in AI infrastructure spending is slowing down, hammering semiconductor and tech stocks.

•A "Splitting" Market: Despite the tech rout dragging down the Nasdaq and S&P 500, the broader market showed resilience. On Friday, more than 300 stocks in the S&P 500 actually rose as investors rotated money out of tech and into defensive assets and government bonds.

•Weekly Performance: The tech-heavy Nasdaq suffered its worst daily plunge since June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped roughly 1.2% on Friday but managed to be the only major index to finish the week in the green, up about 1.4%.

2. Oil Surges Past $117 Amid Middle East Escalation Fears

Energy markets experienced highly volatile trading, with Brent crude—the global oil benchmark—spiking over 3.5% to pass $117 a barrel, its highest level since April.

•The surge was triggered by escalating geopolitical tensions after Tehran warned it would target oil refineries, undersea cables, and data centers in the Gulf region if a new joint U.S.-Israeli offensive is launched against Iran.

•In response to the supply worries, the U.S. government has released emergency oil reserves. Analysts warn that high energy costs are already reverberating through supply chains, threatening to reignite persistent inflationary pressures.

3. U.S. Business Activity Cools Slightly in October

S&P Global released its flash U.S. Composite PMI Output Index for October, which showed a modest cooling in overall business activity.

•The index slipped to 57.6 from a five-year high of 58.4 in September. Even with the decline, any reading above 50 signals economic expansion, and economists noted that U.S. businesses are still experiencing one of their strongest growth stretches since 2015.

•Sturdy consumer spending and demand allowed companies to raise prices at the fastest pace in over four years, signaling that the Federal Reserve may face obstacles in bringing inflation fully down to its 2% target.

4. Key Corporate Highlights

•Meta Platforms (META): Meta reported robust Q3 2026 earnings, posting revenue of $64.6 billion (up 26% year-over-year) and adjusted EPS of $7.40, beating Wall Street expectations. However, the stock was caught in the broader tech sell-off due to the lack of updated AI spending guidance.

•Moderna (MRNA): Shares of the biotech firm plunged after a leak of clinical trial results for its highly anticipated cancer vaccine. Though the vaccine reportedly met its trial targets, the unauthorized leak spooked investors and triggered heavy selling.

•Bloom Energy (BE): The clean energy company reported negative free cash flow of $181 million due to aggressive expansion spending to meet data center demands. Despite an earnings beat-and-raise, shareholders locked in profits, pushing the stock down heavily.

•Kering (KER): The luxury goods giant (owner of Gucci and Saint Laurent) saw its stock tumble over 12% following highly disappointing Q3 revenue figures, highlighting continued consumer pullback in high-end retail.

Citations (8)

1thestreet.comNews and mediaquality 0.82
thestreet.com
Backs: “U.S. stock indexes ended the week on a downward trend, primarily dragged down by a sharp sell-off in mega-cap technology and artificial intelligence (AI) stocks.”
evidence, article. Claim: U.S. stock indexes ended the week lower, dragged down by a sell-off in mega-cap tech and AI stocks.
2share-talk.comNot yet classified
share-talk.com
Backs: “The AI Capex Shift: Investors are increasingly concerned that the massive capital expenditure (capex) boom on AI infrastructure and data centers may be peaking.”
evidence, article. Claim: Investors fear the AI infrastructure capex boom may be peaking.
3morningstar.comData and tools
morningstar.com
Backs: “A "Splitting" Market: Despite the tech rout dragging down the Nasdaq and S&P 500, the broader market showed resilience.”
evidence, article. Claim: Despite the tech rout, the broader market showed resilience, with a split market.
4theguardian.comNews and mediaquality 0.75
theguardian.com
Backs: “Energy markets experienced highly volatile trading, with Brent crude—the global oil benchmark—spiking over 3.5% to pass $117 a barrel, its highest level since April. The surge was triggered by escalating geopolitical tensions after Tehran warned it would target oil refineries, undersea cables, and data centers in the…”
statistic, article. Claim: Brent crude spiked over 3.5% to pass $117 a barrel, its highest since April.
5briefs.coNot yet classified
briefs.co
Backs: “Analysts warn that high energy costs are already reverberating through supply chains, threatening to reignite persistent inflationary pressures. 3.”
evidence, article. Claim: Analysts warn high energy costs are reverberating through supply chains and may reignite inflationary pressures.
6economictimes.comNews and media
economictimes.com
Backs: “S&P Global released its flash U.S. Composite PMI Output Index for October, which showed a modest cooling in overall business activity. The index slipped to 57.6 from a five-year high of 58.4 in September.”
statistic, article. Claim: S&P Global flash U.S. Composite PMI for October showed modest cooling in business activity.
7zacks.comData and tools
zacks.com
Backs: “Meta Platforms (META): Meta reported robust Q3 2026 earnings, posting revenue of $64.6 billion (up 26% year-over-year) and adjusted EPS of $7.40, beating Wall Street expectations. However, the stock was caught in the broader tech sell-off due to the lack of updated AI spending guidance.”
statistic, article. Claim: Meta reported Q3 2026 revenue of $64.6 billion and adjusted EPS of $7.40, beating expectations, but the stock fell.
8fool.comCommercial contentquality 0.84
fool.com
Backs: “Bloom Energy (BE): The clean energy company reported negative free cash flow of $181 million due to aggressive expansion spending to meet data center demands. Despite an earnings beat-and-raise, shareholders locked in profits, pushing the stock down heavily.”
statistic, article. Claim: Bloom Energy reported negative free cash flow of $181 million due to expansion spending for data center demand.