Daily News
Asian Markets Slide as Kospi Falls 2.42% and Nikkei Loses 2.1% on AI Spending Worries; Nasdaq Sinks 2.6% for Worst Day Since June; Gold Falls Toward $4,000; Crude Climbs Above $100
23 October 2026
Today in Brief
Asia-Pacific markets fell sharply, with South Korea’s Kospi down 2.42%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 losing 2.1%, mainland China’s CSI 300 declining 1.76% as it deepened its descent into a technical bear market, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng off 0.47% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 0.21% lower. U.S. stocks mostly slid Thursday on renewed concerns around artificial intelligence spending — the Nasdaq Composite pulled back 2.6% to 26,008.86 for its worst session since June, the S&P 500 shed 1.21% to 7,663.43, and the Dow inched up 11.89 points to 52,867.98 — with Meta Platforms slipping about 7% despite beating revenue expectations. Gold fell toward $4,000 an ounce on Friday, approaching its lowest level in nearly three months as traders liquidated precious metals to cover losses elsewhere, while crude oil climbed above $100 per barrel, near a five-week high, on escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi targets and reports of possible renewed U.S. strikes against Iran.
In other news: President Trump asked Elon Musk to ease the Starlink restrictions in Ukraine, according to the Wall Street Journal; Japan’s core inflation in September hit its highest this year at 2.1%; the 10-year Treasury yield tumbled below 5% to 4.972%, its biggest one-day decline since March 2023; Trump invoked the Cold War-era Defense Production Act for oil production and refining; Norway’s sovereign wealth fund posted a $30 billion third-quarter loss; Meta’s free cash flow turned negative as it raised the floor of its capex guidance to a range of $135 billion to $145 billion; Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said neocloud demand is “off the charts” but capital is scarce; and Moderna shares plunged nearly 18% after an apparent early leak of cancer vaccine trial data.
In Asia, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi Index fell 2.42%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 2.1%
In Asia, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi Index fell 2.42%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 2.1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.47%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 declined 1.76%, deepening its descent into a technical bear market. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.21% lower. Worries around artificial intelligence spending weighed down the market and dragged the U.S. tech sector to a 3% decline on the day. Nvidia dropped 4.4%, Alphabet fell 3.2%, and Advanced Micro Devices declined 8.1% as losses occurred in different parts of the technology sector.
Nasdaq falls more than 2% for worst day since June as AI spending woes, oil prices spark sell-off
Stocks mostly slid Thursday on renewed concerns around spending by artificial intelligence companies, while oil prices jumped amid rising geopolitical tensions. The Nasdaq Composite pulled back 2.6% to 26,008.86, while the S&P 500 shed 1.21% to close at 7,663.43. The tech-heavy index suffered its worst session since June, while the S&P 500 posted its worst daily performance since July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 11.89 points, or 0.02%, to end at 52,867.98. Meta Platforms slipped about 7%, even as it exceeded revenue expectations and offered upbeat guidance. Technology more broadly was under pressure as well as ongoing concerns about artificial intelligence spending persisted.
Gold prices fell toward $4,000 an ounce on Friday, approaching their lowest levels in nearly 3 months
Gold prices fell toward $4,000 an ounce on Friday, approaching their lowest levels in nearly three months as a deepening selloff in technology and artificial intelligence stocks prompted traders to liquidate precious metals to cover losses in other assets. The broader equity downturn intensified this week after Meta Platforms’ plans to increase capital expenditure reignited concerns that technology companies may take on additional debt to fund the AI buildout. Gold also remained under pressure from rising oil prices, which heightened inflation concerns and strengthened expectations that interest rates could stay elevated for longer.
Crude oil climbed above $100 per barrel on Friday, trading near its highest level in five weeks
Crude oil climbed above $100 per barrel on Friday, trading near its highest level in five weeks as escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi targets and reports of possible renewed US strikes against Iran raised supply risks in the Middle East. Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen claimed responsibility for recent attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu, along with deadly strikes targeting an oil field and an airport in the world’s largest crude oil exporter. Meanwhile, US and Israeli militaries have reportedly drawn up plans for renewed attacks after next month’s midterm elections, with Iran’s energy infrastructure likely to be a key target. Despite escalating regional tensions and threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, crude exports from the Persian Gulf have rebounded close to prewar levels.
Trump asked Musk to lift Starlink slowdown
President Donald Trump asked Elon Musk to ease restrictions he had imposed on the military-grade version of SpaceX’s Starlink system in Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing U.S. officials. The Starshield system, which Ukraine depends on in its war against Russia, was “working more normally Thursday, shortly after” Trump spoke to Musk by phone, U.S. and Ukrainian officials told the Journal. Trump said later Thursday he did not “want to comment one way or the other” about whether he made the call to Musk. “Whether I called or whether somebody else called, doesn’t make any difference,” Trump told reporters outside the White House as he departed for a campaign rally in Iowa. “The bottom line, he put it back,” Trump said of Musk.
Japan core inflation in September surges to its highest this year at 2.1%
Japan’s core inflation in September hit its highest this year at 2.1%, overshooting analysts’ expectations, pressured by steeper import costs due to a weak yen and the indirect impact of higher energy costs. Core inflation, which strips out prices of fresh food, was in line with estimates by economists polled by Reuters, and accelerated from the 1.7% in the prior month. Headline inflation came in at 2.1%, while the so-called “core-core” inflation, which excludes prices of fresh food and energy and is the Bank of Japan’s preferred gauge, was at 2.4%.
10-year Treasury yield tumbles below 5% to lowest level in nearly a month
Treasury yields fell sharply on Thursday, with investors turning to safe havens amid a steep sell-off in stocks driven by concerns around the artificial intelligence trade and surging oil prices. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield — used to price mortgages, auto loans and credit card debt — slid more than 17 basis points to 4.972%, the first time below 5% since Sept. 23. The yield saw its biggest one-day decline since March 10, 2023. The yield on the 2-year Treasury notes, which closely tracks short-term Federal Reserve rate policy, tumbled more than 16 basis points to 4.659%. The yield on longer-dated 30-year U.S. Treasury — most sensitive to geopolitical developments — was more than 14 basis points lower at 5.296%.
Trump invokes Cold War era Defense Production Act for oil production, refining
President Donald Trump determined on Thursday that petroleum production, refining, and related activities are essential to national defense, a move that could open up U.S. funding for fossil fuel projects. In a presidential memo, Trump also invoked part of the Cold War-era Defense Production Act, allowing him to provide financial incentives for oil-related activities, pipelines and storage of liquid fuels. Prices for crude oil and diesel have surged since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in joint action at the end of February. Since then, the conflict has limited energy shipments globally, with Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries exacerbating the fuel shortages. The surge in costs poses a risk for Trump in the Nov. 3 elections, as his fellow Republicans try to maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
World’s largest wealth fund posts $30 billion loss after bond market turbulence
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund — the largest in the world — said Thursday that its investment portfolio delivered a loss of $30 billion in the third quarter, as rising interest rates dented returns on its bond holdings. Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages the $2.3 trillion fund, said the accounting return for the period was a loss of 278 billion kroner ($29.7 billion). Around 70% of NBIM’s fixed income portfolio is allocated to government bonds, with the remainder invested in corporate debt. The third quarter saw a global bond market rout. Government bond yields surged as major central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, began rate-hiking cycles and concerns about inflation and government debt levels mounted. NBIM’s fixed income investments delivered a negative return of 3.5%, with the fund’s management saying this was a key driver of the overall downturn.
Meta stock sinks nearly 7% as AI spend pushes free cash flow negative
Meta shares slumped nearly 7% on Thursday as the social media giant showed negative free cash flow in its third-quarter earnings and raised the floor of its full-year capital expenditures. The spread on the social media giant’s five-year credit default swaps reached all-time highs on Thursday, a signal of growing credit concerns from investors as the company leans deeper into its artificial intelligence spending plans. Meta said it expects its full-year capex to range from $135 billion to $145 billion, raising the bottom of the range from a previous $130 billion. Free cash flow came in at a negative $2.12 billion during the quarter. The company revealed Wednesday that it would create a new class of nonvoting Class C common stock during its earnings release, meant to maintain its “founder-led structure” and “provide Meta the ability to finance its growth.”
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says neocloud demand is ‘off the charts’ but capital is scarce
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC Thursday that demand for neocloud firms is “off the charts,” but scarce capital is holding back growth. “If you look at the fundamentals, the demand for the neo clouds is off the charts,” Huang told CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal on the sidelines of the company’s GTC conference in Berlin on Thursday, adding that capabilities are “extraordinary.” “What is missing in the middle is the working capital to fuel that growth… because there’s just so much demand across so many sectors of AI, there’s a scarcity of capital,” Huang said. “The demand of the capital is much greater than the availability of the capital. That’s going to get solved,” he added.
Moderna shares plunge on cancer vaccine data leak
Moderna shares plunged nearly 18% on Thursday, while Merck nearly 2%, after what appeared to be an early release of closely watched clinical trial results for the companies’ experimental cancer vaccine. The results appeared on medical news website Oncology Central around 12:30 p.m. ET, but were taken down shortly afterward. The data had been scheduled for presentation at the ESMO Congress on Saturday. According to the briefly published report, combining the companies’ personalized mRNA cancer vaccine with Merck’s blockbuster immunotherapy Keytruda reduced the risk of melanoma returning or death by 42% compared with Keytruda alone. After two years, 82.2% of patients receiving the combination remained alive and cancer-free, compared with 70% of those receiving Keytruda alone. The Phase 3 trial involved 1,137 patients.