Daily News
Asia Markets Trade Lower as Kospi and Nikkei Slip; S&P 500 Notches Third Straight Gain and Nasdaq Jumps 1% on SpaceX and Tesla Rally; Gold Dips Below $4,100; Crude Climbs Above $98 After Saudi Drone Strike
22 October 2026
Today in Brief
Asia-Pacific markets traded lower, with South Korea’s Kospi falling more than 1%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 declining 0.73%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 losing 0.53%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index down more than 2% and mainland China’s CSI 300 off 0.37%. U.S. stocks rose Wednesday as SpaceX and Tesla developments drew investors back into technology — the S&P 500 gained 0.58% to 7,757.17 for a third straight win, the Nasdaq Composite added 1.05% to 26,702.86, and the Dow climbed 360.21 points to 52,856.09; SpaceX surged 7% on 161% third-quarter revenue growth, while Tesla rose more than 3%. Gold dropped below $4,100 an ounce on Thursday as renewed Middle East tensions pushed oil higher, with crude climbing above $98 per barrel after a drone attack on Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah field killed two people. The Fed is widely expected to hold rates next week, though markets still anticipate a possible hike in December.
In other news: The U.S. ordered non-emergency government employees and their families out of Saudi Arabia as Houthi attacks escalate, amid reports of planned renewed strikes on Iran after next month’s midterms; the Bank of Korea held its policy rate at 3%; President Trump denied ordering a Starlink slowdown in Ukraine; UK inflation rose to 3.5% ahead of finance minister John Healey’s first budget; Meta reported a third-quarter revenue beat with strong guidance; Tesla beat on adjusted earnings and revenue, but GAAP net income fell roughly 43% and shares slipped after hours; Cloudflare saw millions of exploit attempts after the disclosure of critical PHP vulnerabilities; and Wall Street increasingly sees a Tesla-SpaceX merger as inevitable, though it is split on the price.
In Asia, markets traded lower. South Korea’s Kospi fell more than 1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.73%
In Asia, markets traded lower. South Korea’s Kospi fell more than 1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.73%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.53%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is down more than 2%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 is down 0.37%. Shares of Meta gained 2% in extended trading. The Facebook and Instagram parent delivered a revenue beat along with strong guidance for the current quarter. Meanwhile, Tesla reported a better-than-expected top and bottom line for its third-quarter results. Shares of the electric vehicle maker were last off 3%.
S&P 500 notches 3-day win streak, Nasdaq jumps 1% as SpaceX and Tesla rally
Stocks rose on Wednesday as the latest developments surrounding SpaceX and Tesla led investors to move back into technology. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.05% to end at 26,702.86, and the S&P 500 rose 0.58% to 7,757.17. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 360.21 points, or 0.69%, to close at 52,856.09. Shares of Elon Musk’s SpaceX surged 7% after the company said its revenue grew 161% in the third quarter. Musk also said that SpaceX and Tesla, his auto manufacturer, have formed special committees to discuss a merger. Tesla, which is due to report earnings later, saw shares rise more than 3%.
Gold prices dropped below $4,100 an ounce on Thursday, erasing gains from the previous session
Gold prices dropped below $4,100 an ounce on Thursday, erasing gains from the previous session as renewed tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices higher and fuelled inflation concerns. Crude oil advanced following a drone strike on Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah field that killed two people, while the US ordered some personnel and family members to leave American embassies in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged next week, after Chair Kevin Warsh’s remarks last Friday did little to alter expectations for a pause. However, markets continued to anticipate a potential Fed rate hike in December amid persistent energy-driven inflation.
Crude oil climbed above $98 per barrel on Thursday, recouping losses from the previous session
Crude oil climbed above $98 per barrel on Thursday, recouping losses from the previous session after a drone attack on Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah oil field killed two people. The incident underscored rising tensions in the Middle East and heightened concerns over further disruptions to energy supplies. The US has also ordered some personnel and family members to leave American embassies in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Ukraine launched large-scale drone attacks on Russia this week, targeting critical oil infrastructure and signalling Kyiv’s intention to prevent Moscow from expanding diesel exports under an agreement between Presidents Trump and Putin. However, further gains in oil prices may be constrained by rising crude shipments from the Middle East, with export flows nearing prewar levels.
U.S. pulls diplomats from Saudi Arabia as it reportedly readies Iran strikes after midterms
The U.S. ordered non-emergency government employees and their families to leave Saudi Arabia as Houthi attacks on the kingdom escalate. The move comes as the U.S. and Israeli militaries have drawn up specific plans for renewed strikes on Iran after next month’s midterm elections, according to The New York Times, citing unnamed U.S. officials. Planning for a “short but intensive” operation is progressing, The Times said. The developments point to a possible widening of the nearly eight-month war, while U.S. and Iranian negotiators continue talks on Tehran’s nuclear program and the Strait of Hormuz. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott in a post on X said the order applies only to Saudi Arabia, citing increasing attacks by Iran-aligned Houthis on civilian targets.
Bank of Korea holds rates after President Lee calls for boosting housing supply
South Korea’s central bank expectedly kept its policy rate steady at 3% on Thursday, after two straight hikes, with analysts pointing that it does not signal a change in policy stance as inflation stays elevated. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the Bank of Korea to hold rates, and the decision comes after President Lee Jae Myung reportedly called for an “all out effort” to boost housing supply. The BOK in its statement said it opted to hold rates as it assesses the effects of the two prior rate hikes, and looks at “developments in both domestic and external risk factors,” citing increasing uncertainties around the Middle East conflict and monetary and fiscal policies of major economies.
Trump denies ordering Starlink slowdown in Ukraine, says he doesn’t know who did
President Donald Trump on Wednesday insisted he had nothing to do with a slowdown of SpaceX’s Starlink in Ukraine and said he does not know if Elon Musk was responsible for speed-capping the critical satellite service. Trump’s latest denial came one day after The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter, reported Musk ordered the slowdown and discussed it with Trump. “I wasn’t involved,” Trump told a reporter when asked about the decision as he departed the White House for a campaign rally in South Carolina. When pressed to answer if Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO, ordered the slowdown, Trump said, “I don’t know who did it, but I was not involved.”
UK inflation and borrowing climb before Healey’s first budget
British inflation and borrowing rose more than expected last month, according to data that will add to calls for help for households in finance minister John Healey’s first budget next week and the likelihood of a Bank of England interest rate hike. Consumer price inflation rose to 3.5% after a 3.1% increase in August, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a rise of 3.4% in the 12 months to September as the surge in energy prices caused by the Iran war gathered steam. The BoE had predicted a smaller rise to 3.0% in forecasts it published in July. Last month’s increase, which the ONS said was due to higher petrol and diesel costs, took inflation to its highest since October 2025. The September inflation rate is traditionally used by the government to set increases for welfare benefits.
Meta reports third-quarter revenue beat and issues strong guidance
Meta reported better-than-expected revenue in its third-quarter earnings report on Wednesday and issued strong guidance for the current period. The stock rose about 1% in extended trading. “We hit major milestones this quarter toward delivering personal superintelligence for everyone – including launching Muse and Muse Wonder, our first frontier model,” said CEO Mark Zuckerberg in the earnings release. For the fourth quarter, Meta said it expects revenue of between $73 billion and $76 billion, or $74.5 billion at the middle of the range. Analysts expected $73.73 billion, according to LSEG. The initial success of the Muse AI personal assistant tool that debuted in September helped Meta end September with its best month on Wall Street since 2022.
Tesla beats on earnings and sales even as auto revenue declines, shares traded lower after hours
Tesla stock fell nearly 5% in after-hours trading to $375.19 on Wednesday after the company’s Q3 2026 earnings report revealed a headline beat that masked a significant deterioration in core business fundamentals. The stock was also spooked by cautious commentary from CEO Elon Musk on Tesla’s robotics and chipmaking plans, who also declined to provide any more details on a potential merger with SpaceX. Tesla’s adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.48 against estimates of roughly $0.43–$0.45, and revenue of $28.05 billion edged past the approximately $27.9 billion consensus — but GAAP net income collapsed roughly 43% yearover-year to $787 million, and operating income fell 56% to just $718 million, compressing the operating margin to 2.6% from 5.8% a year earlier. Net income was hit by a loss on the mark-to-market value of Tesla’s SpaceX holdings.
Cloudflare sees millions of exploit attempts after PHP disclosure
Cloud services firm Cloudflare saw millions of exploitation attempts after the public disclosure of critical vulnerabilities in the widely used programming language PHP, CEO Matthew Prince said in a post on X late on Wednesday. “In the 10 hours before it was publicly announced, across the network we saw thousands of attempts to exploit it. That jumped to tens of thousands in the 45 minutes post announcement, hundreds of thousands within 2 hours, and millions now,” Prince said. Government websites in Europe and elsewhere went offline on Wednesday after the disclosure of vulnerabilities in PHP sent website operators around the world scrambling to protect their systems.
Wall St sees Tesla-SpaceX merger as inevitable, but split on price
A Tesla-SpaceX merger appears to be a matter of when, not if, to many on Wall Street. But they disagree on a key factor: how much Tesla shareholders should be paid. That tension runs through a deal where predictions on the premium Tesla shareholders would get to swap into a stock of SpaceX that Elon Musk controls run from little or none to 35%. With Tesla worth about $1.5 trillion, the premium could run into hundreds of billions of dollars, making it a major swing factor in any deal. The billionaire, a self-described ’conflicted party’, said the committees are yet to agree on terms, even as Wall Street sees a deal being proposed in the coming months. Tesla shares gained more than 3%, while SpaceX rose 11% on Wednesday and was set to add about $210 billion to its market capitalization if gains hold, roughly equal to that of CitiGroup.