Markets 24-Hour Briefing
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Last updated: October 23, 2026, 3:40 PM ET
Energy & Commodities
Brent crude surged to $117 a barrel nytimes.com, its highest level since April, as investors grew increasingly concerned that the war in Iran could escalate. Oil ft.com climbed to $116 for the first time since April even as global equities were knocked by AI fears, and Brent wsj.com pushed above $114 as traders weighed the risk of renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities. Iran has threatened wider strikes on economic and civilian targets wsj.com if the U.S. attacks, and Washington is preparing for a protracted stalemate ft.com.
Gold fell below $4,000 ft.com as the haven asset joined the market sell-off, dropping to its lowest level since July despite investors rushing into US Treasuries. Refiners are enjoying a boom, with record refining margins wsj.com lifting expectations for oil majors. Eni bloomberg.com said it will return more cash to shareholders after the Middle East war boosted fuel prices, while Eni's earnings doubled wsj.com as it kicked off earnings season for the energy majors. SLB bloomberg.com reported growth driven by a gradual recovery in Middle East oil fields. US natural gas futures wsj.com resumed their slide on a mild weather outlook, while European gas prices hit their highest since 2022 on LNG supply fears. Wheat bloomberg.com slid for an eighth straight week, its longest losing streak since 1997, and Russia bloomberg.com is looking to a disputed port to keep wheat exports flowing.
Tech & AI Selloff
Global tech stocks slid as AI spending fears resurfaced. Meta reignited AI spending fears ft.com, sending the Nasdaq tumbling while Treasuries soared, and the company's market value sank by $124bn after it said it would raise capital spending. Meta's hunt for AI capital wsj.com struck a raw nerve, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq falling 2.6%. Nasdaq losses were more muted wsj.com on a later day, and Nasdaq futures steadied wsj.com after the index posted its worst day in months. SK Hynix shelved wsj.com its planned U.S. IPO on market jitters. China AI model stocks bloomberg.com have lost $150 billion with no end in sight. Calpers ft.com slashed its Magnificent 7 holdings as doubts grow about the rally, and Politicians are turning against AI wsj.com even as public pensions depend on it. OpenAI trimmed ft.com its valuation target to $1.25tn after pitching a higher price. Anthropic ft.com and Hg are launching a European AI consultancy, and Jane Street and HRT bloomberg.com are spending billions on AI compute. Western Digital wsj.com posted a profit surge on data storage demand, and Bloom Energy wsj.com lifted its outlook. Meta's Muse wsj.com AI agent has reached 10 million downloads in a month, but investors question the payoff.
Equity Markets & Stocks
Europe's stock markets fell as China woes hit Volvo Car bloomberg.com and Gucci. Volvo shares plunged ft.com as much as 30% after the automaker swung to a loss and said it would cut another 2,500 jobs, and Volvo Car wsj.com is majority-owned by China's Geely. Kering shares slid 10% ft.com after Gucci sales fell 6% in the third quarter, delaying chief executive Luca de Meo's revival plans. Europe's luxury giants now trade at the lowest valuations in a decade bloomberg.com. General Motors bloomberg.com stock was set for its worst week in more than 20 months, though analysts urged investors to buy the dip. Hedge funds bloomberg.com logged their widest daily drawdown since Covid in the stock rout. Holcim bloomberg.com raised full-year guidance for the second time this year on strong demand. Nikkei wsj.com fell 2.2% on chip and bank stock drags, while South Korean stocks bloomberg.com reversed an early drop to close higher on a chipmaker rebound. Chinese stocks ft.com entered a bear market as Asia dipped. Newmont wsj.com posted higher profit on gold sales, and CMOC bloomberg.com saw its earnings soar on a copper rally. Swiggy shares bloomberg.com plunged to a record low as losses mounted, and Jio's record IPO bloomberg.com drew strong demand despite an India market rout. Zip shares bloomberg.com halved after the company flagged costs tied to a US fraud event. Rogers Communications bloomberg.com beat earnings expectations on sports revenue gains, though its wireless business remained sluggish. Safran wsj.com confirmed its guidance as revenue jumped, and Volvo bloomberg.com reported higher profit on truck demand in North America and Europe.
Fixed Income & Rates
French bond markets suffered a historic bout of turbulence, with French bond risk bloomberg.com nearing its biggest weekly rise as the crisis deepened. Yen strength wsj.com reached a one-year high against the euro on French debt fears. Japanese bonds bloomberg.com rallied as the tech rout fuelled haven demand, and Japanese bond yields bloomberg.com fell across the curve. Treasury yields wsj.com edged up as the bond market's focus stayed on France. Japan's inflation bloomberg.com rose above the Bank of Japan's target, boosting bets on rate hikes. US consumer sentiment bloomberg.com slipped to a five-month low on inflation. Rathbones bloomberg.com is warming to longer UK gilts on bets for budget discipline. Treasuries' link to AI bloomberg.com has shifted sharply as the haven trade returns. Bessent's tilt ft.com toward short-term debt draws warnings if inflation and debt rise. Blackstone ft.com cut property valuations as higher rates hit returns. Money market funds nytimes.com offer a simple way to benefit from rising rates.
Currencies & Emerging Markets
The rupee's rally bloomberg.com from near a record low is set to lose steam on oil and dollar demand. The WSJ Dollar Index wsj.com edged lower for a third straight session. Brazil's inflation bloomberg.com shot through the target ceiling before the presidential runoff. Indonesia's corporate bond risk bloomberg.com hit a six-year high after MSCI warned it may remove Indonesia from its equity index, and Indonesia's sovereign fund wsj.com defended its strategy amid a market downgrade. Argentina's resources boom ft.com is gathering pace, but risks to the peso ft.com mount ahead of close Argentine elections. South Korea's stocks bloomberg.com are now twice as cheap as Indonesia's after the tech selloff.
Corporate Deals & Business
BASF raised bloomberg.com its takeover offer for Evonik to over €11 billion. Barilla paid $750 million bloomberg.com in cash for Goodles. KKR founders ft.com are backing a deal that values Valencia football club at €1.25bn. Citi won approval ft.com for its China securities business ahead of a Trump-Xi meeting. Eni wsj.com is set to sign up to $1.8 billion of infrastructure contracts for its Cyprus gas project. Bombardier wsj.com plans a $270 million US expansion. Rio Tinto bloomberg.com will spend $1.9 billion on bauxite expansion in Australia. Singapore Exchange's CEO bloomberg.com plans to step down after a decade. Weil Gotschal wsj.com is losing top lawyers as it holds merger talks. Kering wsj.com shares plunged as the Gucci recovery stalled. Boston Beer wsj.com logged lower profit and revenue amid a bleak beer market, while Deckers wsj.com cut its sales outlook as shoppers sought discounts. Booz Allen wsj.com raised its earnings outlook. American Express wsj.com raised its profit outlook on member spending, even as it cuts 3,500 jobs wsj.com. LKQ wsj.com ousted its CEO and warned of a third-quarter shortfall. Sallie Mae wsj.com cut its full-year view on higher charge-offs. Archer Aviation wsj.com launched air taxi fleets in Texas. Rogers wsj.com reported lower profit on a tough comparison. Blackstone ft.com also cut valuations.
Markets Structure & Regulation
CFTC bloomberg.com chairman Selig said the agency takes oil trading oversight "very seriously". NYSE American options bloomberg.com halted trading over a technical issue. Retail traders bloomberg.com are using VPNs to access offshore 24/7 oil trading platforms. US Treasury ft.com proposed tighter rules on investing in sensitive Chinese tech. Brokerage firms wsj.com are seeking to remove investor protections. UK ft.com watered down "fit and proper" rules for bankers. Prediction markets bloomberg.com increasingly upstaged election polls. Indian retail traders bloomberg.com cut back on leveraged bets as stocks slid. Retail deleveraging bloomberg.com triggered the biggest small-cap rout since March. Arini Capital bloomberg.com fell 69% amid the junk debt selloff. Aer Lingus-type airfares ft.com will not return to pre-Iran war levels, American Airlines warned. Airlines wsj.com are navigating dangerous skies amid global conflicts.
Coming Up
The Brazil runoff bloomberg.com is set for a vote on Thursday, with a Datafolha poll showing the two candidates tied. Fed decision bloomberg.com is expected before the next gold move. Malaysia's Sarawak bloomberg.com will hold state polls as pressure mounts on Prime Minister Anwar.
Private Equity
Last updated: October 23, 2026, 3:40 PM ET
Fundraising & Fund Closes
Blackstone closed its fifth energy fund peinsights.substack.com at an $8.7bn hard cap, underscoring sustained investor appetite for energy-focused private capital. Ara Partners reached a final close peinsights.substack.com on its debut energy fund at $2.5bn, also at its hard cap.
Deals & Acquisitions
Goldman Sachs Alternatives agreed to acquire peinsights.substack.com a majority stake in Celnor, the Inflexion-backed building services business. TA Associates moved to take peinsights.substack.com a majority stake in Med Envision, a Belgian orthopaedic medtech company.
Limited Partners & Allocations
CalPERS, the $640bn California public pension fund, is reducing peinsights.substack.com its exposure to Big Tech holdings while leaning further into private equity. Tikehau Capital returned €2.2bn peinsights.substack.com to its limited partners this year but cautioned about its 2026 profit targets.
Venture & AI
Early investors in Anthropic are sitting on techcrunch.com substantial paper gains ahead of the lab's anticipated IPO. Nvidia's European startup investments are flowing back sifted.eu to Nvidia itself, as many of the funded companies spend the capital on its chips. Andreessen Horowitz rebranded techcrunch.com its crypto unit as a16z Frontier as blockchain investing cools, with Chris Dixon broadening the group's scope.
Legal & Risk
AI agents are creating news.crunchbase.com new trade secret exposure by giving employees access to proprietary expertise that can be extracted or reproduced.
Regional & Early-Stage Deals
Oslo's tech sector continues to struggle sifted.eu to escape the shadow of Stockholm. Sifted profiled 14 Italian sifted.eu early-stage startups that VCs are watching. Crunchbase News highlighted news.crunchbase.com deals in robot training, space lasers and greener cement. Tech Crunch reported techcrunch.com that top tech leaders at Disrupt argue fast growth depends on more than early sales.
Coming Up
Anthropic's IPO remains on the horizon techcrunch.com, with its early backers' valuations set to be tested once it lists.
Sector Investment
Last updated: October 23, 2026, 3:40 PM ET
Real Estate Private Markets
The PERE Awards 2026 perenews.com are now accepting submissions, inviting industry input on the groups, individuals and events that made the greatest impact on the sector.
Healthcare Private Equity
Arcventis Health Partners has completed a majority growth investment thehealthcareinvestor.com in Aligned Modern Health, marking another deal in the healthcare and life sciences buyout landscape.
Digital Infrastructure
Digital infrastructure now dominates North American fundraising infrastructureinvestor.com, even as nearshoring policy priorities meet growing hurdles for data centre development.
Coming Up
The PERE Awards submission window perenews.com is currently open for industry nominations.