A narrow U.S. stock rebound on Monday, Oct. 19, left the Dow behind as oil contracts ended in opposite directions; on Tuesday, SpaceX reported a sharp rise in quarterly revenue ahead of more major-company results.
The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 7,690.73 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.1% to 26,430.89, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1% to 51,966.03, according to the Associated Press. Declines still covered most shares beyond the AI and technology cohort, AP reported. Nvidia ended up 1.4%, AP said. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index added 1.6%, ending an eight-session losing streak, Reuters reported.
The advance followed the previous week’s selloff in technology shares. AP and Reuters said investors were concerned that higher borrowing costs could make AI infrastructure, including data-center expansion, more expensive to finance. The gains remained concentrated in technology shares. Reuters said the semiconductor index’s losing streak was its longest since October 2008. Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, told Reuters investors would weigh whether expected AI growth still justified paying a premium for related shares.
Oil’s direction varied by benchmark and contract. Reuters reported Brent crude futures settled down 0.3% at $109.55 a barrel. The expiring November West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contract gained 2.2% to $103.66, while the more actively traded December WTI contract fell 0.5% to $98.54, Reuters reported. The November contract was nearing its Oct. 20 expiry, with trading relatively thin.
Earlier Monday, Reuters linked oil’s initial weakness to President Donald Trump’s Oct. 16 order waiving specified duties, sanctions and restrictions under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. Reuters said the move could lead to greater Russian fuel supplies. The White House order cited U.S. national interests and said some Russia measures imposed under earlier executive orders would remain in place.
SpaceX’s Tuesday, Oct. 20, filing reported third-quarter revenue of $14.6 billion, up 161% from a year earlier, and net income of $4.4 billion. Meta and Tesla were scheduled to report results after the market close Wednesday, Oct. 21.
