The Morning Briefing · Saturday, 17 October 2026 · Published 07:20 CET · 5-minute read
Good morning. Wall Street ended the week on the back foot as a fresh sell-off in chipmakers dragged the Nasdaq down more than 2%, while Brent crude pushed up to the $110 mark. Europe, by contrast, closed higher. Here is what moved your money and what to watch into next week.
☕ Today in 30 seconds
- Chip stocks slide again. The Nasdaq fell 2.1% and the S&P 500 1.1% as worries over AI debt and Chinese competition hit semiconductors.
- Oil at $110. Brent rose 3.7% on Middle East and Russia-Ukraine supply risks, a direct threat to fuel and heating bills.
- Warsh keeps the Fed guessing. The Fed chair declined to signal what the central bank will do at its next two meetings.
- Europe bucks the trend. The Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.6% and the IBEX 35 0.8%.
📈 Markets
| Index/Asset | Last close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,659.44 | ↓ −1.1% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 26,140.03 | ↓ −2.1% |
| Dow Jones | 52,002.41 | ↓ −0.3% |
| Euro Stoxx 50 | 6,204 | ↑ +0.6% |
| IBEX 35 | 19,326.30 | ↑ +0.8% |
| Brent crude ($/barrel) | 109.86 | ↑ +3.7% |
| Gold ($/oz) | ≈ 4,170–4,190 | ↑ higher |
| EUR/USD | ≈ 1.125 | ↑ +0.3% |
| US 10-year yield | 5.09% | ↓ slightly lower |
The Philadelphia semiconductor index lost 3.8%, with all 30 of its members lower, while energy shares rose with crude and kept the Dow’s loss small. In Europe, technology stocks recovered part of the previous session’s losses and defence and industrial names led the gains (AP, Ad-hoc News).
🌍 Economy
Warsh gives no hint on the next rate move. Speaking at the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok on Friday, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said he does not “prejudge meetings”, refusing to say what the Fed will do in October or December. The Fed raised rates by a quarter point in September, its first increase in three years, and the minutes show most officials expect another hike this year (PBS NewsHour).
The euro heads for its first weekly gain in six. Traders read Warsh’s comments as consistent with no change this month, which softened the dollar. The euro rose about 0.3% to around $1.125 on Friday, after hitting a 17-month low earlier in the week (Bloomberg via Briefs).
Euro-zone inflation sits at a three-year high. Consumer prices in the euro area rose 3.8% in September, the fastest pace in three years, with energy the main driver. That keeps the European Central Bank under pressure as oil and gas prices climb again (GMK Center).
⚡ Energy & bills
Brent touches $110 for the first time since May. Crude jumped as Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and attacks on Russian refineries clouded the supply outlook, while US crude settled above $101. Higher crude usually feeds through to petrol, diesel and heating-oil prices within weeks (Rigzone).
European gas nears its highest level since late 2022. The Dutch TTF benchmark traded around €86 per MWh on Friday, heading for a third straight weekly gain, as disrupted LNG shipments near the Strait of Hormuz and Norwegian outages tightened supply. EU storage is only about three-quarters full, well below normal for mid-October, a risk for winter bills (Yahoo Finance).
🏢 Companies
CoreWeave leads the AI-infrastructure sell-off. Shares of the data-centre operator fell 11.9% to $61.39 as some of its bonds traded at distressed levels and the cost of insuring its debt hit a record. Investors are uneasy about the roughly $52 billion of loans and leases funding its expansion (The Motley Fool).
Travelers posts a strong quarter. The insurer reported third-quarter core income of $9.18 a share and a combined ratio of 86.8%, meaning it kept a healthy underwriting margin despite $538 million in catastrophe losses from wind and hail storms (Travelers results).
🔢 One number to know
$109.86
Brent’s settlement price per barrel on Friday, up 3.7% on the day after it briefly hit $110 (Rigzone).
🗓 What to watch today
| Time (CET) | Event | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Sat–Sun | Markets closed | Weekend Middle East headlines will set the tone for oil on Monday |
| Mon 19 Oct | China Q3 GDP and September activity data | A key read on global demand for commodities and exports |
| Tue 20 Oct, 22:01 | Netflix Q3 results | Opens the big-tech earnings run |
| Wed 21 Oct, 08:00 | UK September inflation | Shapes Bank of England rate expectations |
| Wed 21 Oct, after US close | Meta and Tesla Q3 results | AI spending plans in focus after the chip rout |
| Fri 23 Oct | October flash PMIs (euro zone, UK, US) | First look at business activity this month |
Full week in our economic calendar.
📚 Read more
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- Tool: try our inflation calculator to see what rising prices mean for your money.
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Market data is for information only and is not investment advice.
Written by The Daily Economy editorial team with AI assistance and checked against the linked sources. Read our editorial policy.