Markets 8-Hour Briefing
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Last updated: October 22, 2026, 10:40 PM ET
AI Selloff and Tech Weakness
Tech stocks wsj.com fell sharply as investors grew uneasy about soaring AI spending, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq down 2.6% on the session. Meta wsj.com drew particular scrutiny after disclosing further spending commitments, and Meta's market value ft.com shed $124bn after the company said it would raise its capital expenditure. Chinese AI model stocks have lost $150 billion bloomberg.com with no sign of the selloff easing, and Asian tech shares bloomberg.com deepened their decline as investors rotated out of industry giants. Korean chip stocks retreated bloomberg.com in step with the US selloff, while the Nikkei wsj.com dropped 2.2%, dragged by chip and bank shares.
Pensions and Political Pressure
Public pension funds have benefited heavily from the AI rally, with AI-linked stocks driving $138 billion wsj.com in gains across 13 funds, even as politicians turn against the sector.
Fixed Income and Currencies
Japanese government bond yields fell across the curve bloomberg.com on Friday as haven demand grew, and Treasury yields posted their biggest drop in the wake of the tech selloff. Japan's key inflation gauge rose above the BOJ target bloomberg.com for the first time in a sustained period, boosting bets on further rate hikes. The WSJ Dollar Index wsj.com edged 0.1% lower to 96.80, its third straight decline, and the yen gained bloomberg.com as investors sought safety.
Commodities
Gold bloomberg.com held near its lowest close in more than three months as investors sold into volatility, though one analysis suggests gold wsj.com is likely to consolidate in the near term. Silver futures wsj.com settled down 4.6% at $54.764 an ounce, their lowest this year, as oil-driven inflation fears mounted. Brent crude bloomberg.com headed for a third weekly gain as attacks on Saudi Arabia intensified, while Iran threatened wider strikes wsj.com on economic and civilian targets if the US attacks.
Corporate Earnings
Western Digital wsj.com posted a fiscal first-quarter profit of $1.78 billion on data storage demand and higher pricing. Newmont wsj.com reported a third-quarter profit of $2.48 billion on a surge in gold sales. Bloom Energy wsj.com lifted its full-year adjusted earnings outlook to between $3.10 and $3.40 a share. Not every report was positive: Deckers wsj.com cut its sales outlook as shoppers sought discounted shoes, Boston Beer wsj.com logged lower profit and revenue amid a bleak beer market, and Sallie Mae wsj.com trimmed its full-year view after higher charge-offs. Zip bloomberg.com shares roughly halved after the Australian payments firm flagged costs tied to a US fraud event. Moderna ft.com shares sank after leaked cancer vaccine data fell short of expectations, even as Merck and Moderna nytimes.com reported the vaccine cut melanoma recurrence risk. OpenAI ft.com trimmed its valuation target to $1.25tn after floating a higher price earlier this month.
Deals and Industry
Rio Tinto bloomberg.com will spend $1.9 billion to expand its Australian bauxite operations, while Victoria state approved bloomberg.com a A$1 billion gas project. The US Treasury ft.com proposed tighter rules on investments in sensitive Chinese technology, including AI and hypersonic weapons. Jane Street and HRT bloomberg.com are spending billions to compete in the AI era, even building their own data centers. Weil Gotshal wsj.com continues to lose top lawyers while it holds merger talks. Blackstone ft.com cut property valuations as higher rates hit returns, and Airfares ft.com will not return to pre-Iran war levels, American Airlines warned. Singapore ft.com is threatening companies behind land burning in Indonesia over toxic haze.
Coming Up
Trump must appear ft.com for a BBC deposition by December 11 in his $10bn defamation suit. Australian growth bloomberg.com is likely to come in below the 1.75% forecast in May's budget, according to Treasurer Chalmers.
Private Equity
Last updated: October 22, 2026, 10:40 PM ET
Venture Capital & Crypto
a16z Crypto has rebranded as a16z Frontier techcrunch.com as investor appetite for blockchain bets cools, with the digital asset unit led by Chris Dixon broadening its scope beyond crypto.
Startup Growth
Founders at this year's Disrupt argued that fast growth techcrunch.com comes from more than early sales, with Lovable's Luke Arno, Polsia's Ben Broca and others sharing their playbooks.
Transatlantic Tech
Palantir's chief said Europe must accept some dependency sifted.eu on US technology, a stance that puts pressure on European efforts to build sovereign alternatives.
Sector Investment
Last updated: October 21, 2026, 11:22 PM ET
Renewables Investment
US renewables managers infrastructureinvestor.com are reworking their strategies as surging electricity demand meets a shifting market backdrop, with investors adjusting positioning at an inopportune moment for the sector.