Market Review: October 20, 2026

Closing Recap

Tuesday, October 20, 2026

U.S. stock markets were broadly higher, paced today by a surge in Healthcare (XLV) which hit all-time highs behind names like Lilly (LLY), while defensive and interest rate sensitive sectors Utilities (XLU), Consumer Staples (XLP) and REITs (XLRE) enjoyed strong returns. Tech bounced off overnight lows (XLK), but still underperformed in the S&P 500 as anxieties around artificial intelligence, debt concerns and high rates remain. Oil prices also eased after hitting fresh 6-month highs and Treasury yields were little changed, but the 10-year holding above 5.1% keeps markets on edge into the upcoming FOMC rate meeting. Earlier, major Asian indexes sold off, led by the Korean Kospi as shares in data-center startup Elice tanked more than 30% on their trading debut in Seoul, pressuring semis (SOX), and AI data center comps in the U.S. Names like CoreWeave (CRWV) in the neocloud sector continue to slide as investors scrutinize the debt loads financing its own data-center rollout. In earnings, auto giant GM tumbled despite mostly better results as guidance showed caution. Tonight, earnings from SpaceX’s (SPCX) second earnings report as a public company for clues on the prospects of its AI business, its level of spending and more while Netflix (NFLX) and United Airlines (UAL) also are due to report earnings.

• Building permits for September edged down 0.2% M/M to SAAR of 1.400M in September, exceeding the 1.387M consensus, from 1.403M prior (revised from 1.394M). Single-family authorizations were at a 845,000 rate, 4.0% below the revised August figure of 880,000.
• U.S. Pending Home Sales Index: -7.3% M/M to 66.0 vs. 0.0% consensus and +0.3% prior, according to data released by the National Association of Realtors on Tuesday.

• Longer-run Treasury yields edge lower as oil prices fall and September’s housing data came in weaker than analysts expected. The U.S. 10-year yield declines -1.9 bps to 5.116%, while the 30-year yield slips -4.7 bps to 5.425%. The U.S. 2-year yield rose 2.6 bps to 4.785%. Wednesday holds no major economic data releases amid the Federal Reserve’s blackout period. Traders are anticipating that the committee will keep rates steady later this month.
• Precious metals were mixed as December gold slides -$17.50, or -0.42%, to settle at $4,142.60 an ounce while December silver rises +$0.73, or +1.27%, to settle at $58.00an ounce. The U.S. dollar slipped as doubts over the AI trade resurfaced, while the euro edged up despite traders’ lingering worries about unrest in France. The dollar index (DXY) fell 0.27% to 101.70, with the euro up 0.2% at $1.1232. markets remain wary of the euro despite as France faces widespread protests and a worsening fiscal picture. The yen jumped after an auction of longer-dated Japanese government bonds drew record demand.

• Apparel & Footwear retail: Addidas (ADDYY) preliminary Q3 revenue rose 9% yr/yr to record level while Q3 operating profit grew 37% to record level; said gross margin improved, aided by €200 mln US tariff refund and full-price sales; Sees 2026 currency-neutral revenue growth between 9% and 10% and raises 2026 operating profit outlook to around €2.5B from €2.3B
• Specialty retailers: toy retailer HAS Q3 revs $1.6B top consensus $1.48B; raised annual revenue forecast to grow in the range of 7% to 9% on constant currency basis, compared with its prior forecast a 5% to 7% rise; said Q3 revenue in its Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment during the third quarter rose 31%, while consumer products segment was up 4% from a year ago.
• Consumer Staples sector: KR unveils long-term targets under CEO Greg Foran ahead of investor day, reaffirms annual forecasts; said sees ~3% comp sales growth by 2029, ex: fuel and pharmacy, along with 3%-6% adj core profit growth and 7%-11% adj EPS growth for 2027 through 2029.

• Furniture retailers: ARHS was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper in Furniture retailers; raising Q3 comp / sales estimates and Piper’s PTs for ARHS, W, and WSM, given Q3 survey results and an industry backdrop supportive of accelerating share gains for all three. Piper’s Q3 Furniture Retailer survey showed an acceleration in demand trends vs Q2 as written demand for Q3 was +6.4% mean and +6.0% median – an improvement from Q2. Demand trends were strongest in September (+DD%), +MSD% in July, but were pressured in August (-LSD%).

• Nuclear Power/Utilities sector: SMR downgraded to Underweight at Barclays saying commercial delays and contract uncertainty increase the company’s execution risk; AEP was upgraded to Buy at BTIG saying the company has been successful in leveraging its core geographical footprint and work on optimizing time to power to become one of the core large load growth plays

• Asset managers/Private Credit: BLK was upgraded from Hold to Buy at TD Cowen and raised tgt to $1,405 from $1,212 saying after sharp YTD peer/market underperformance, believes Q326 Marks an important inflection. TDCowen’s thesis Centers on: 1) rising visibility to ’30E KPIs; 2) ex ST market action, it believes Street is too low looking to ’28E+; and 3) BLK is well positioned across key vectors for organic growth – Passive, Solutions, Private Markets, Retirement, non-US & cash.
• Brokers & Exchanges: TW announced plans to acquire electronic fixed-income competitor Trumid for ~$1.97B, including $1.75B for the business and approximately $220M for tax assets. The purchase price will be funded with $1.888B in cash and $82M in equity. The deal is expected to close in 1H27, with an approximately 18-month integration
• Financial service sector: EFX reported Q3 revs +10% y/y in-line with consensus and adj EPS topping while lowers 2026 full-year revenue guidance midpoint to $6.661B due to weak U.S. mortgage market and expects 2026 adj EPS of $8.50, down $0.04 at midpoint from prior guidance. Equifax says US mortgage market weakness intensified as 30-year fixed rates rose around 75bps since July, creating a USD 20mln September revenue headwind versus its framework. MSCI rises on results as EPS $5.11 tops est. $5.02 and revs up 12% y/y, driven by higher asset-based fees and recurring subscription revenues, though Operating expenses rose due to increased IT, professional fees.
• Insurance sector: WRB reported operating EPS of $1.17 vs. consensus of $1.16, with the underwriting beat largely driven by stronger-than-expected Insurance results, partially offset by weaker Reinsurance margins. Net investment income was $383.5m, supported by 12% y/y growth in the core portfolio.
• REIT sector: Deutsche Bank with several changes as HR was upgraded to Buy from Hold and downgraded EPRT to Hold from Buy while LTC, NNN, FR, WELL, ESS, VMRK top picks into earnings in REITs. The firm enters Q326 earnings season with a constructive view on REITs’ internal growth outlook given steady/improving demand and falling supply across most property types. The firm particularly likes Hotel & Industrial REITs into Q326 earnings given strong demand tailwinds and believe companies in these sectors are most likely to beat and raise.

• ALVO said the FDA approves new manufacturing process, SIMLANDI, that doubles output per batch. SIMLANDI is co’s biosimilar to ABBV’s Humira, a drug used to treat inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease.
• CRSP announced CFO Raju Prasad, Ph.D., will be stepping down from the Company to pursue external opportunities, and A.J. Silver, the Company’s Senior Vice President of Finance, will succeed Dr. Prasad as Chief Financial Officer.
• MYGN said it will sell its prenatal health testing business to LH for $210 million in cash, plus the value of the inventory; MYGN says the transaction is expected to be accretive to Myriad’s revenue growth and profitability, while strengthening the balance sheet.
• NBIX announced the initiation of its Phase 2 clinical study of investigational compound NBI-1117567 in adults with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. The study will evaluate the potential of NBI-‘567 to improve cognitive performance in adults with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease who are receiving stable treatment with an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor.
• RAPP said its bipolar mania treatment, RAP-219, met the main goal and secondary goals in a mid-stage trial. RAPP says patients who took the treatment had a 15.4-point mean reduction in the total score on the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), which measures and quantifies the severity of manic symptoms.
• Dialysis sector: shares of DVA, FMS declined after Axios reported a new Trump admin plan for kidney care calls for injecting more competition into treatment markets, incentivizing innovation and focusing more on preventive care. Chronic kidney disease is common, expensive and deadly. But it often goes undetected until patients enter late stages when treatment options are more limited.
• Healthcare Services/Testing sector: QGEN shares rose after Bloomberg report earlier that the Co is in advanced talks to be acquired by Swedish buyout firm EQT, citing people familiar with the matter. Qiagen’s board is meeting this week to decide on the potential deal, the report said. EQT has submitted a binding offer of more than $50 per share for Qiagen, while US private equity firm KKR has also made a bid, Bloomberg News reported https://tinyurl.com/kej97aws
• Animal health sector: Jefferies downgraded ELAN (tgt to $24 from $31) and ZTS (tgt to $83 from $103) to Hold from Buy citing the company’s softer pricing environment. It estimates price made up 64% of Zoetis’ earnings growth between 2022-25 and without this driver, lower volumes constrain profit growth. For ELAN, says volume, not price, has driven Elanco’s growth transformation, and trends are holding in 2026.

• Power/Infrastructure sector: PWR, MTZ in focus as the US Department of Energy on Tuesday said it would invest roughly $967 million in additional funding to modernize critical energy infrastructure in a bid to lower surging electricity costs. The funding is through the Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grant program and will support projects to help states, territories and tribes invest in infrastructure improvements to ensure more affordable and dependable power, the DOE said.
• Aerospace sector: GE Q3 adj EPS $2.25 vs est. $2.01 and Q3 revs $13.29B vs est. $12.87B; Q3 orders $19.0B; guides FY26 adj EPS $8.00-$8.10 (above prior forecast $7.65-$7.85) and vs est. $7.92 and FY26 rev growth of about 19-20% vs. consensus view $50.42B; expect 2027 commercial services to grow low double-digits supported by over $170B commercial services backlog.
• Defense sector: NOC and RTX both rally behind better earnings results and backlog numbers; NOC Q3 sales $11.1B vs. est. $11.13B; Q3 backlog increases to $110B; still sees FY Sales $43.75B-$44.25B vs. est. $44.05B; while raises FY26 segment operating income view to $4.94B-$5.04B from prior view $4.85B-$5B. RTX raised its sales forecast range to $97B-$97.5B, from prior view $95B-$96B and now expects 2026 adjusted EPS of $7.65-$7.75, up from its prior forecast of $7.10-$7.25. The better guidance comes following a top and bottom line beat for Q3 results; Quarterly revenue at Collins Aerospace rose 10% on a 23% jump in commercial original equipment sales, while revenue at Pratt & Whitney increased 10%, helped by a 21% rise in commercial aftermarket sales.
• Packaging and Container sector: CCK shares fell as better Q3 results (adj. EPS $2.39/$3.71B vs. est. $2.26/$3.46B) was offset from weaker guidance as sees Q4 adj. EPS guidance $1.63-$1.73 vs. est. $1.80; FY adj. EPS guidance $8.35-$8.45 vs. est. $8.40.

• Data center sector: Day started off rough for many of these names, but buyers stepped in, lifting shares of neoclouds and chip stocks. Piper noted shares of the Bitcoin miners (HUT, RIOT, MARA, etc.) have come under pressure as the broader Ai trade has reversed. Hotter inflation and higher oil prices have revived concerns about further rate hikes, credit markets have begun repricing the debt needed to fund data center buildouts, and investors continue to debate whether planned Ai CAPEX will materialize. With these companies likely requiring access to debt (and to a significantly lesser extent equity), their shares have traded as leveraged bets on these broader debates rather than on company-specific fundamentals.
• AI space: META shares fell 0ver -2% to $689, remaining weak all day and falling for a 5th straight day (down from 10/13 high $771.27) ahead of earnings tomorrow night; TD Cowen said today in a note that their latest checks indicate NVDA is providing credit support to ORCL, either in the form of backstops or by leasing capacity directly and subleasing it to Oracle, which they believe in part explains Oracle’s recent wave of data center leasing in Southeast Asia in support of its recently reported agreement with Tencent.

• Hardware sector: AAPL was downgraded to Hold at Loop Capital Buy and PT to $330 from $370, lowering estimates after concluding the ~10% Sep/Dec iPhone shipment reductions are unlikely to be fully recovered in 2027 as previously expected. The firm now sees the issue as increasingly demand-related rather than purely supply-driven, while rising memory costs add gross-margin risk.
• Cyber security sector: Stifel said survey results in deep-dive C3Q26 Cybersecurity VAR Survey improved nicely sequentially, with more VARs growing Y/Y and all-time record outperformance levels (spanning 35 quarters). Survey results were stronger for DDOG, improved for RBRK, more balanced for NET, and weaker/decelerating for CHKP. By category, Identity, Cloud, Network, and AI Security were top spending priorities.
• Internet Content/Delivery; AKAM was upgraded to Strong Buy at Raymond James after the pullback, arguing the market is over-penalizing its ~$5.5B capital commitment supporting >$11B of expected Anthropic revenue. AKAM represents <3% of Anthropic’s estimated ~$520B of infrastructure obligations over the next 7–10 years, making it a relatively small but differentiated piece of the buildout given Akamai’s networking footprint

• MU invests in U.S. Critical minerals processing to strengthen domestic semiconductor supply chain. Partners with Indium Corporation to expand high-purity mineral refining and manufacturing in Rome, New York, supported by a long-term supply agreement. Investment aims to restart domestic processing of critical semi materials and reduce reliance on concentrated refining capacity.
• QCOM will cut jobs globally in a "performance-focused reduction" following its annual employee reviews, CEO Cristiano Amon told staff in a memo on Monday reviewed by Reuters, with notifications set to begin in November.