Daily News
Kospi Plunges More Than 6% Below 6,000; S&P 500 Flat as Micron Drags Nasdaq Lower; Gold Holds Below $4,200 on Dollar Strength; Crude Slips Below $93 as Winning Streak Ends
13 October 2026
Today in Brief
Asia-Pacific markets were weak, with South Korea’s Kospi falling more than 6% to drop below 6,000 and hit its lowest level since July 31, the Kosdaq sliding 3.25%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 declining 2.22%, while the Topix was flat and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched higher. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 slipped 0.06% to 7,807.24 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.44% to 27,245.90, weighed down by a 3.9% drop in Micron Technology, while the Dow rose 195.60 points, or 0.38%, to 51,850.55. Gold held below $4,200 an ounce as the US dollar climbed to an 18-month high ahead of key inflation reports, while crude oil fell below $93 per barrel, ending a three-session winning streak.
In other news: The IMF warned that government bond yields could rise in a disorderly fashion as debt and inflation risks worsen; India’s retail inflation jumped to 5.54% in September, above estimates; the FAA warned U.S. airlines of safety risks over Saudi Arabia after deadly Houthi attacks closed Riyadh’s main airport; Elon Musk gave more than $276 million to Republican groups, becoming the biggest known 2026 midterm donor; Starbucks said it is not buying Chipotle; Microsoft announced its Maia 300 AI chip and plans to deploy potentially more than a million of them next year; Meta launched its Muse Wonder AI models; and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said adoption of Chinese frontier AI models has been “very fast”.
In Asia, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi fell more than 6%
In Asia, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi fell more than 6%, dropping below 6,000 to its lowest level since July 31, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 3.25%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 2.22% and the Topix was flat. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 inched higher. Big banks JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Wells Fargo are slated to release their results before the open on Tuesday. Dow member UnitedHealth is also on deck. The early reports could set the tone for an earnings season with lofty expectations. Analysts on average expect S&P 500 profits grew by nearly 30% from the year-earlier period, according to FactSet.
S&P 500 closes near flat, pressured by higher oil prices and memory chip stock losses
The S&P 500 closed just below the flatline on Monday after the major averages posted a winning week and as investors looked ahead to a busy week of earnings results and inflation data. The broad market index fell 0.06% to end at 7,807.24, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed, rising 195.60 points, or 0.38%, to 51,850.55. It was the third straight positive day for the 30-stock index. The Nasdaq Composite, however, underperformed and lost 0.44% to close at 27,245.90. The Nasdaq was weighed down by a 3.9% drop in shares of Micron Technology. The move came as investors assessed increasing competition from China’s CXMT, which reported progress on a new chip structure.
Gold held below $4,200 an ounce on Tuesday, remaining under pressure
Gold held below $4,200 an ounce on Tuesday, remaining under pressure as the US dollar climbed to an 18-month high ahead of key inflation reports that could shape the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision. The US consumer price index is due on Wednesday, followed by producer inflation data on Thursday. Markets are pricing in roughly an 80% probability that the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged this month, while assigning nearly an 88% chance of a rate hike in December. Investors also monitored geopolitical tensions as the US considers joining Saudi Arabia in its campaign against Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, while the recently announced Russia-Ukraine “energy ceasefire” has already been violated.
Crude oil fell below $93 per barrel on Tuesday, ending a three-session winning streak
Crude oil fell below $93 per barrel on Tuesday, ending a three-session winning streak as investors weighed the impact of Russian diesel exports against escalating geopolitical tensions. Russia partially lifted its diesel export restrictions on October 10 following an agreement with the US, helping ease supply constraints in global fuel markets. However, US lawmakers argued that President Trump’s agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to violate US law prohibiting Russian energy imports until Moscow ends its aggression against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also vowed to continue strikes against Russia as Moscow persists in targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, breaching the “energy ceasefire” previously announced by Trump. Meanwhile, the Trump administration faces mounting pressure to support Saudi Arabia in its fight against Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen following missile and drone attacks on Riyadh’s main airport.
IMF warns bond yields could see a ‘disorderly’ spike as debt, inflation risks worsen
The International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday that government bond yields could rise in a disorderly fashion, as rising inflation, mounting debt and AI-related borrowings pressure sovereign bond markets. Government bond yields in several advanced economies have climbed to multidecade highs, driven by higher energy costs due to the Middle East conflict and expectations for tighter monetary conditions as central banks look to curb resurgent inflation. In its latest Global Financial Stability Report, the fund warned that sovereign bond risk could deteriorate, warning of “a sharp rise in sovereign bond yields.” The report was released Tuesday as part of the IMF-World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, this week, where more than 18,000 delegates gathered to discuss the state of the world economy and the financial system.
India’s retail inflation jumps to 5.54% in September, above estimates
India’s headline inflation rose to 5.54% in September from 4.82% in August, adding pressure on the country’s central bank to further tighten monetary policy. The consumer price index print was slightly above economists’ expectations of 5.40%, according to a Reuters poll. Inflation has been on the rise for 11 straight months in the world’s fastest-growing economy and has touched a 22-month high in September. India’s food inflation climbed 7.74% in September from 5.97% the month prior, with prices rising faster in rural areas than cities, India’s Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation said in a Monday release. Transport services for goods inflation rose 14.73% while that for personal transport jumped 7.46%, as per the release.
FAA warns U.S. airlines of safety risks over Saudi Arabia after attacks
The Federal Aviation Administration told U.S. airlines to exercise caution when flying in or around Saudi Arabia after deadly attacks claimed by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, which have shut down the airport in the Saudi capital. King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, remains closed as of Monday after strikes that started last week. The attacks escalated Saturday, when a projectile struck a passenger terminal at the airport, officials said, killing at least 12 people and wounding more than 300. Airlines suspended flights to the airport, some for the rest of the week. The U.S., Australia and other countries advised citizens against travel to the region.
Elon Musk gives $276 million to Republican groups, becomes biggest known 2026 midterm donor
Elon Musk spent more than $276 million in newly disclosed donations to Republican groups since July, making him the biggest known donor of the 2026 midterm election as the party fights to hold its majorities in Washington this November. The largest share – $158 million – went to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC backing Republican Senate candidates, according to figures provided by Musk’s representatives to The New York Times and confirmed Monday to CNBC by Lindsey Curnutte, a spokesperson for Musk’s America PAC. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO also gave more than $76 million to America PAC, the group he founded during the 2024 election, which has built a large voter-turnout operation in competitive Senate and House races. The new figures were disclosed days ahead of a Thursday Federal Election Commission filing deadline, when political committees are due to report their third-quarter finances.
Starbucks says not buying Chipotle, ends takeover speculation
Starbucks is not buying Chipotle Mexican Grill, the coffee chain said on Monday, quashing talk of a deal that could have been the largest-ever involving restaurants but was doubted by both investors and analysts. “As a matter of policy, we don’t comment on rumours and speculation, but we want to be clear we are not buying Chipotle,” a Starbucks spokesperson said. Chipotle declined to comment. The statement follows a report by the Financial Times on October 8 that Starbucks had worked with advisers in recent months on a potential proposal to acquire Chipotle, citing people familiar with the matter. Starbucks did not respond to a request for comment on whether they approached advisers for a deal. Shares of the coffee chain were up 1% in early trading, while Chipotle, whose shares surged on the prospect of a takeover which would have reunited Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol with the burrito chain he led for six years, fell about 4%.
Microsoft plans huge deployment of its own AI chips, with an eye on saving costs
Microsoft announced the next generation of its custom AI chip on Monday and said it plans to deploy potentially more than a million of them next year to back its internal AI services. The Maia 300, as the chip is called, is the third generation of the company’s custom chips designed to handle AI data crunching such as coding and carrying out complex business tasks on a user’s behalf. Its predecessor is already running Microsoft’s in-house AI models, as well as models from OpenAI delivered on Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing service. The new version comes amid a flurry of custom chips from both cloud computing rivals and AI firms such as OpenAI aimed at loosening the hold of Nvidia on the AI computing market.
Meta releases Muse Wonder AI models to challenge Anthropic and OpenAI
Meta on Monday launched Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, calling them its most capable AI models yet, as the social media firm looks to compete more forcefully with OpenAI and Anthropic. Meta’s shares rose about 4% in afternoon trading. The launch comes after CEO Mark Zuckerberg pledged billions of dollars and aggressively poached researchers over the past year to catch up in Silicon Valley’s intensifying AI race. Meta said Muse Wonder would soon power its Muse personal AI agent, initially for subscribers, while the more powerful Muse Wonder Full model is available to subscribers of its AI coding tool Muse Code. “Fourteen months ago, we began an overhaul of our AI efforts, and in that time we’ve gone from rebuilding our foundations to pushing the frontier,” Meta said in a blog post
Intel CEO says Chinese frontier AI model adoption has been ’very fast’
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said on Monday that the token costs of Chinese frontier AI models have been lower and adoption has been “very fast”. At a panel organised by lender DBS on Monday, Tan said the performances of Chinese models, such as DeepSeek, Kimi and GLM, are “good enough”. “I’m a strong believer of open source, that’s the best way to drive efficiency,” he said, adding that markets will decide which models will benefit different use cases the most. He added that quantum computing could become mainstream in the next three to five years and that software will play a role in driving the efficient use of some of the infrastructure that will be required.
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