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Markets·Monday, Oct. 12·After the close

Tech slips, Dow gains as oil climbs again

Stocks went nowhere on Monday, but under the surface money moved out of tech and into older, steadier companies while oil kept climbing.

Written and checked by software

The story

The S&P 500 finished essentially flat, about half a percent below its record. Underneath, the market split. The Dow rose about 0.4%, and the Nasdaq fell about 0.4%. Yahoo Finance reported that traders trimmed risk and moved into steadier stocks ahead of big bank earnings on Tuesday and new inflation data. Tech led the losses, and chip stocks kept sliding.

Meta went the other way. It jumped about 3.4%, the day's biggest mover, after it launched a new AI model called Muse Wonder. Mark Zuckerberg says Meta has reached the AI "frontier," Bloomberg reported.

Oil rose again, with U.S. crude around $93 a barrel, up about 1.6%. Bloomberg reported that Ukraine cast doubt on Trump's "energy ceasefire," and that Saudi Arabia was hit by its deadliest strikes since the Iran war began. Global oil costs more, at around $106 a barrel. Pricey crude keeps pressure on heating oil and diesel, and Maine is heading into heating season.

Also today

  • Nvidia fell about 1.3% as chip stocks kept sliding, which added to the weakness in tech.
  • The dollar rose about 0.4% to near its 52-week high, and gold slipped about 0.5%, after Cleveland Fed official Beth Hammack said higher interest rates could be needed, CNBC reported.
  • The bull market turned 4 on Monday. The S&P 500 is up almost 120% since its October 2022 low, CNBC reported.

Storylines

  • Middle East war and oil crisis: Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia, and supertankers avoiding a Gulf transfer hub, pushed crude higher.
  • Trump's Russia diesel deal: Ukraine doubts the "energy ceasefire," there's bipartisan pushback, and Trump is defending it.
  • AI race and money leaving tech: Meta's new model lifted its stock while chips and the Nasdaq slipped.
  • Earnings season and Fed talk about higher rates: Big banks report Tuesday, and the interest rate on 10-year government bonds held steady near multi-year highs, at about 5.24%.

Temperature

Neutral ยท cautious: Stocks sat near records and the market's fear gauge was normal, but traders trimmed risk ahead of earnings and inflation data.

Where this came from

Written by software from that day's market data and the headlines cited below, checked against the numbers by code, and published without a person's review. Nothing here is advice.