Markets 24-Hour Briefing
×Public Markets
Last updated: October 19, 2026, 10:50 PM ET
Oil & Energy
Oil edged lower in early Asian trade, though supply risks linger. Crude futures settled lower after President Trump waived some new sanctions against Russia, and Brent held near a five-month high as traders weighed the risk of further Iranian disruption. Iran's main oil terminals have stayed empty for weeks under the US blockade. Citgo raised its 2026 profit outlook by $2 billion on surging fuel margins, and US natural gas futures fell to a two-week low as offshore production recovered.
Gold & Commodities
Gold held a decline as elevated oil prices fueled inflation concerns and clouded the rate path. Gold futures settled lower as the dollar firmed and yields rose. Digital gold holdings tripled to $55bn as younger investors piled in, while wheat fell to its lowest in more than two months despite weekend strikes. CME plans tungsten futures as demand for weapons rises, after China restricted exports of the metal.
US Equities
US stocks were mostly higher as AI credit worries abated, and US stock futures rose 0.5% ahead of the open. The Nasdaq 100 recovered after its biggest weekly drop since last year's trade-war rout. Morgan Stanley's Wilson said investors should prepare to add risk as the pullback ends. Netflix is being viewed as a possible sleeper hit, even as the company overhauls its creative leadership to revive domestic growth. Wells Fargo warned the earnings season is off to a poor start.
AI & Technology
Anthropic committed 5% of its shares to a public benefit fund ahead of its IPO, while Anthropic and Nscale discussed a second multibillion-dollar computing deal. Elon Musk vowed to give every US child a SpaceX share. CoreWeave was upgraded to buy at Goldman Sachs on overblown debt worries, and JPMorgan defended its debt model. Investors lost confidence in data-centre bonds. Quantinuum said it is on track for fault-tolerant quantum computing by 2029. DHS ordered DeepSeek removed from federal civilian IT systems.
Asia & Emerging Markets
Asian stocks declined, breaking with the chip-led rally on Wall Street. The Nikkei fell 0.7% on lingering worries over the AI boom. Mynt's record IPO debuts Tuesday in the Philippines. Indonesia is removing tightly held companies from the Jakarta index to head off an MSCI downgrade. China's stocks face a record 10-week losing run, and China's exports helped stabilize official growth figures. Pakistan's growth slowed as the Middle East crisis tested its recovery.
Fixed Income & Rates
Treasuries fell as tech shares rebounded and sapped haven demand, and a Citi executive said Treasuries are losing luster as a hedge. French bonds dropped as rioting added pressure on the government. Bank of Canada rate-hike bets climbed, and Walmart is set to raise about $6.5 billion from US and Canadian bond sales. Kimberly-Clark raised $4.9 billion for its Kenvue acquisition.
Deals & Corporate
Tradeweb agreed to buy Trumid for about $1.97 billion. Silgan will combine with Trivium Packaging in a $3.4 billion deal, and Roche partnered with China's Hansoh in a deal that could top $15 billion. Steel Dynamics reported a third-quarter profit of $756 million, and Cleveland-Cliffs swung to a profit on higher volumes. KKR was accused by the EU of misleading regulators over a €22bn telecoms deal. H.B. Fuller rejected Ancora's latest bid. Kroger and Albertsons head to court in a $9bn battle over their failed merger. Mattel named Peter Griffith as CFO.
Coming Up
Mynt's shares are set to make their Philippine debut Tuesday. The Bank of Canada decision is expected next week, and Kroger and Albertsons court proceedings begin Monday.
Private Equity
Last updated: October 19, 2026, 4:30 PM ET
Mega-Deals & Take-Privates
EQT Infrastructure agreed to take Cleanaway Waste Management private in a deal valuing the Australian waste group at $6.5bn, making it the largest such transaction in the market this week. KKR is selling railcar lessor Infinity Transportation to Ares Management for $2.9bn, a deal that owns and manages roughly 50,000 railcars. Silgan's $3.4bn Trivium deal drew AIP, which will commit $1bn for a 40 percent stake in the metal packaging transaction.
Fundraising & Fund Closes
Blackstone closed its fifth energy fund at an $8.7bn hard cap through Blackstone Energy Transition Partners V, signaling that energy transition strategies still attract large allocations. Secondaries fundraising, however, is slowing, with $80.5bn raised across the first three quarters of the year.
Venture & Growth Capital
Nvidia challenger Tenstorrent reached a $6.2B valuation to scale its open-weight AI chips after a fresh raise, following acquisition interest earlier this year. AI assistant startup Town reached unicorn status just four months after launch. Latin American startup funding rose 26% in the third quarter as investors returned to the region, while a critical view of enterprise AI valuations appears in Crunchbase's analysis of forward-deployed engineering models.
Mid-Market & Sector Deals
Garibaldi Blue took a majority stake in Canadian coffee roaster Level Ground. Archimed acquired a majority stake in medical imaging cloud provider 3verest, while Lightview Capital invested in bipartisan lobbying firm Thorn Run Partners. Investcorp Technology Partners acquired a majority stake in Spanish marketing automation firm Connectif. In Europe, CVC's Panzani is in exclusive talks to merge with Sofina-backed Cerealis, and Main Capital combined Omnidocs and Wood Wing into a €70m document software group.
Talent & Industry Moves
THL Partners hired HIG Capital's Bruce Robertson as healthcare managing director, and Evercore promoted Nigel Dawn to co-president. Carlyle CEO Harvey Schwartz named cyber risk as the greatest risk facing the industry today.
Coming Up
Panzani and Cerealis remain in exclusive talks, with a combination still subject to agreement.
Sector Investment
Last updated: October 19, 2026, 10:40 PM ET
Real Estate Investment
Canada's PSP plans to expand its use of real estate funds, making more fund commitments while still seeking to trim direct exposure. PGIM is nearing the close of Asia Fund V, its largest Asia-focused vehicle to date, and is weighing single-country strategies alongside it.
Healthcare Private Equity
Amulet Capital Partners recapitalized a US fertility platform, one of the notable healthcare private equity deals in the tracker.
Infrastructure and AI
Canada is positioning itself as a strong location for AI infrastructure, drawing on low-carbon energy and cross-border connectivity. EQT's AI-focused fund received a $2.1 billion uplift, while Ares made its entry into the European market.