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Semiconductor stocks extended their slide on Friday. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 0.88%, its eighth consecutive daily decline, after South Korea's Kospi dropped more than 7% overnight. Among the larger decliners, Arm Holdings fell about 6.5%, Micron roughly 4.8% and Broadcom about 4.4%. CoreWeave swung sharply, falling more than 9% early before closing up almost 6%. The weakness in chips and AI-linked names weighed on the technology sector, which was among the da

U.S. retail sales rose 0.8% in September from the prior month, indicating that shoppers continued to spend despite elevated inflation and high borrowing costs. The reading is closely watched by investors in retailers and consumer staples, which outperformed on Friday. Walmart and Coca-Cola were among the Dow's top gainers. Combined with a hotter producer price report, the data leaves the Federal Reserve balancing resilient demand against persistent price pressures.

Smaller companies beat large caps on Friday. The Russell 2000 rose 1.4%, the S&P SmallCap 600 gained 1.33% and the S&P MidCap 400 advanced 1.03%. Smaller companies tend to be more sensitive to borrowing costs, so the drop in Treasury yields helped sentiment. The 10-year yield fell to about 5.09% and the 30-year stood near 5.43%. Brent crude eased 1.4% to about $104.54 a barrel, and the dollar index slipped to about 102. Individual small-cap moves were large in both directions

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 556 points, or 1.08%, to close at 52,177.69, its highest level in a month. The S&P 500 rose 0.33% to 7,744.06 and the Nasdaq added 0.08%. Defensive and value names led. Home Depot gained 3.4%, Chevron 3.1%, McDonald's 2.6%, Coca-Cola 2.3% and Walmart 2.2%. Health care was the best-performing sector, followed by consumer staples and materials. Nvidia, Amazon and Caterpillar were among the Dow's laggards. The VIX volatility index slipped

Wholesale inflation ran hotter than expected in September. The producer price index rose 6.3% from a year earlier, above the 5.5% economists had forecast, while core producer prices climbed 5.0%. The report adds to a run of firm inflation readings that has kept investors focused on how the Federal Reserve will respond. Higher input costs can squeeze margins for consumer-facing and transport companies if they cannot pass them on to customers. Markets nonetheless closed higher

Information technology was the worst-performing S&P 500 sector Wednesday, falling about 3%. Dell dropped roughly 8% after Barclays cut it to Equal Weight, citing valuation and slower enterprise AI hardware spending. CoreWeave also fell sharply amid concern over its heavy AI infrastructure debt. The selloff extends a rough stretch for the group: one market summary showed tech down about 5% and semiconductors about 9% over seven days, while energy and oil and gas stocks gained

September consumer prices rose 0.6% from the prior month and 3.7% from a year earlier, above the 3.6% economists had expected. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3% on the month and 2.6% annually, both hotter than forecast. Analysts pointed to shelter, airfares and used cars as drivers, alongside energy costs tied to the conflict with Iran. Treasury yields jumped on concern the Federal Reserve could raise rates again this month. The 10-year yield rose more than

Federal regulators fined Bank of America more than $1.2 billion over failures in its anti-money-laundering and illicit-finance safeguards. The company booked the settlement in its third-quarter results, cutting reported net income to $6.9 billion, or $0.91 per share. Excluding the charge, adjusted net income was $8.1 billion, or $1.08 per share. Revenue was $30.0 billion, up 3% from a year earlier, with net interest income up 8% to $16.4 billion. Global Markets sales and trad

While the broader market slid Wednesday, health care rose about 2.4% and consumer staples about 2.2%, the two best-performing S&P 500 sectors. Energy also gained 0.65%. Among drug makers, AstraZeneca gained 4.3%, Merck 4.1%, Eli Lilly 3.9% and Pfizer 3.9%. The move came as a hotter inflation reading and rising yields weighed on growth and small-cap stocks. Defensive sectors with steady demand tend to attract buyers when rate-hike fears rise. Staples companies such as grocers,

With the 10-year Treasury yield climbing to about 5.28% after Wednesday's inflation report, rate-sensitive sectors such as real estate investment trusts are back in focus. Higher benchmark yields raise borrowing costs for property owners and make fixed-income alternatives more competitive with REIT dividends. Net-lease and retail-focused REITs, which depend on long-term financing and steady rent collections, are among the groups investors watch closely when yields move. The 3

Crude prices fell about 2% on Tuesday after the administration temporarily relaxed restrictions on Russian diesel supplies. WTI settled near $91.78 a barrel and Brent near $104.40, retreating from Monday's Brent close of $106.65, the highest since mid-September. The move offers some relief for fuel-sensitive sectors such as airlines and logistics, though geopolitical risk remains elevated after attacks tied to Houthi forces disrupted operations at Riyadh's airport. Energy sto

U.S. stocks ended nearly unchanged Tuesday. The S&P 500 closed at 7,805.45, down 0.02%, the Nasdaq slipped 0.15% to 27,204.38 and the Dow lost 0.35% to 51,670.10. The Russell 2000 fell 0.3%, and about 56% of issues declined. Individual movers diverged sharply. UnitedHealth rose roughly 4% to 5% after beating expectations and lifting its full-year outlook, and Meta gained about 3.4% on AI model rollouts. Johnson & Johnson fell more than 5% after a talc litigation charge and a

Semiconductor shares fell for a second day Tuesday as investors weighed competition from China's memory maker CXMT and comments from Broadcom CEO Hock Tan that were read as a warning about speculative AI investing. Micron dropped roughly 4% to 5%, SK Hynix fell 4.3% and Samsung slid as much as 7.4% in early Korean trading. In the U.S., Western Digital and Seagate each fell more than 7% in premarket trading after UBS trimmed its Western Digital price target to $470 from $525.

Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said policymakers should tighten policy fairly quickly, arguing that inflation is spreading beyond energy into broader prices. She favors smaller, timely rate adjustments rather than waiting for larger moves. Markets took notice: CME FedWatch odds of an October rate hike rose to about 22% from 17.7% a week earlier, following the Fed's September increase, which officials tied to higher diesel, technology and food prices. Treasury yields hav

Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Wells Fargo all topped profit forecasts on Tuesday, extending a mostly solid start to third-quarter bank earnings. Goldman earned $5.29 billion, or $17.01 per share, well above the roughly $13 expected, as equities trading revenue jumped 72% to $6.44 billion. Citigroup's profit rose about 40% on investment banking, services and wealth management, while Wells Fargo earned $5.95 billion, or $1.87 per share. Shares reacted unevenly: Goldman gained ab

Oil prices rose after Houthi strikes closed Riyadh's airport, adding to Middle East supply worries. Energy shares gained, with the sector ETF up roughly 0.6% in early trading Monday. Delta Air Lines said it is delaying the launch of its Atlanta-Riyadh service indefinitely. The move comes days after Delta cut its annual profit outlook on higher fuel costs, a reminder of how closely airline results track crude prices. Energy majors such as Chevron and BP typically benefit from

Verizon shares rose about 2.4% in a rally tied to its share repurchase program, while T-Mobile gained roughly 2.9% to near $153 after an upgrade from Raymond James. The moves offer some relief to a telecom group that was pressured last week by news of a SpaceX spectrum deal. The communications sector ETF was up about 0.4% in early trading. Investors are weighing buybacks and dividends against heavy network spending and competition from satellite-based entrants. AT&T and Veriz

Albertsons is seeking more than $9 billion from Kroger in connection with their failed merger, according to market reports, reopening a dispute that has hung over the grocery industry. The claim could weigh on Kroger if pursued, even as grocers contend with food-price pressures and a consumer-sentiment reading that recently slipped to 46.3. Kroger has previously defended its handling of the deal. Details of the claim, including timing and the legal path, remain unclear. Inves

Digital assets bounced on Monday, with the Ether ETF ETHA up about 3.2% and the iShares Bitcoin Trust IBIT up about 1.4%, in what one market summary described as a return of risk appetite. The rally follows recent reports that Riot Platforms sold bitcoin to fund its shift toward AI data centers, part of a wider trend of miners redirecting power capacity toward computing demand. Strategy also reported buying another 250 bitcoin. Crypto remains volatile and sensitive to interes

JPMorgan Chase kicked off big-bank earnings on Tuesday with a rare miss, reporting third-quarter earnings of $5.75 per share against analyst expectations of $5.93. Revenue came in at about $50.17 billion, short of the roughly $51.23 billion consensus. The report sets the tone for Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, which also report this week, and puts large lenders such as Bank of America in focus. Investors will be watching trading revenue, credit costs and net intere