According to Zhitong Finance APP, on Friday, the three major indices declined while oil prices rose. Federal Reserve Chair Walsh expressed optimism about the strength of the U.S. economy. He also noted that the resilience of the global economy, despite recent geopolitical shocks and monetary tightening by countries to curb inflation, had surprised him. Walsh emphasized that the Fed is clearly committed to achieving price stability, opposes pre-judging the outcomes of upcoming meetings, and does not advocate disclosing potential policy actions for the remaining meetings in 2026.
This week, the Nasdaq fell more than 4%, marking its worst weekly performance since the tariff turmoil in April 2025. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 11.4% for the week, setting a new record for its longest consecutive losing streak since the 2008 financial crisis. This marks the fifth time this year the index has experienced a pullback of at least 10%, erasing approximately $2 trillion in market value.
[U.S. Stocks] At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 175.99 points, or 0.34%, to 52,001.70; the S&P 500 dropped 84.64 points, or 1.09%, to 7,659.42; the Nasdaq Composite declined 572.99 points, or 2.14%, to 26,140.03. Apple (AAPL.US) rose 0.43% against the market, while Coreweave (CRWV.US) fell 11.91%, SK Hynix (SKHY.US) dropped 6.58%, Arm (ARM.US) slid 6.94%, SanDisk (SNDK.US) declined 6.85%, Oracle (ORCL.US) fell 4.64%, and Tesla (TSLA.US) dropped 2.13%. The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index fell 1.3%, with Baidu (BIDU.US) down 2.93% and Alibaba (BABA.US) down 1.83%.
[European Stocks] The German DAX 30 rose 241.93 points, or 0.95%, to 25,624.55; the UK FTSE 100 gained 37.62 points, or 0.35%, to 10,877.97; the French CAC 40 increased 22.00 points, or 0.28%, to 7,956.70; the Euro Stoxx 50 climbed 35.29 points, or 0.57%, to 6,203.55; the Spanish IBEX 35 rose 137.29 points, or 0.72%, to 19,314.99; and the Italian FTSE MIB advanced 453.95 points, or 0.92%, to 49,851.50.
[Forex] The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the dollar against six major currencies, fell 0.21% on the day, closing at 101.837 at the end of forex trading. At the close of trading in New York, 1 euro was exchanged for 1.1233 U.S. dollars, up from 1.1212 U.S. dollars in the previous trading session; 1 British pound was exchanged for 1.3319 U.S. dollars, up from 1.3272 U.S. dollars. 1 U.S. dollar was exchanged for 158.05 Japanese yen, down from 158.14 Japanese yen; 1 U.S. dollar was exchanged for 0.8242 Swiss francs, down from 0.8271 Swiss francs; 1 U.S. dollar was exchanged for 1.4153 Canadian dollars, down from 1.4190 Canadian dollars; 1 U.S. dollar was exchanged for 9.9192 Swedish kronor, down from 9.9597 Swedish kronor.
[Cryptocurrency] Bitcoin rose 0.82%, trading at $81,681 as of writing. Ethereum fell 1.3%, trading at $2,421.
[Precious Metals] Spot gold fell 0.1% to $4,165.94 per ounce; spot silver fell 0.77% to $56.986 per ounce.
[Crude Oil] The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $3.44 to $101.41 per barrel, an increase of 3.51%; the price of Brent crude oil for December delivery rose $3.94 to $109.86 per barrel, an increase of 3.72%.
[Macro News]
The U.S. fiscal deficit for fiscal year 2026 reached $1.99 trillion, the highest level in five years. According to data released by the U.S. Department of the Treasury on October 16, the fiscal deficit for the year ended September 30, 2026, increased by $217 billion year-over-year to $1.99 trillion—the highest since fiscal year 2021 and the third-largest annual deficit on record. Fiscal revenue for FY 2026 hit a record $5.40 trillion, up 3% year-over-year, while fiscal expenditures reached a record $7.40 trillion, up 6% year-over-year. Debt service payments rose 12% to a record $1.36 trillion. Additionally, a prior U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidating most of the Trump administration’s tariffs resulted in $145 billion in tariff refunds during FY 2026, causing net tariff revenue to decline 11% year-over-year to approximately $17.3 billion. The Treasury estimates that the fiscal deficit as a share of GDP for FY 2026 was 6.2%, up from 5.8% in the prior fiscal year. The September monthly deficit was $27 billion, compared to a surplus of $198 billion in the same month last year.
Trump: Oil prices will drop soon; hope the Russia-Ukraine conflict ends. U.S. President Trump made his latest remarks on the Russia-Ukraine and Middle East issues: “I know some details about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and at some point I will release them—I hope it ends. The Biden administration has done many bad things regarding Ukraine.” When asked about inflation, Trump again claimed: “Oil prices will drop soon. Israel’s assistance to Saudi Arabia has been tremendous, and the Abraham Accords are once again on the table for Saudi Arabia.”
The U.S. Treasury did not signal plans to reduce the scale of long-term Treasury issuance, pushing long-term Treasury yields higher. According to reports, the U.S. Treasury did not explicitly indicate that it would cut the size of long-term Treasury auctions, leading to a modest rise in long-term Treasury yields. Prior to the quarterly refunding announcement on November 4, the Treasury consulted with Treasury dealers on how to adjust auction sizes in light of future borrowing needs and investor demand. However, the Treasury did not provide any clear signal that it intends to reduce long-term Treasury issuance in the near term. Previously, some investors had anticipated that, given the Trump administration’s desire to lower Treasury yields, the Treasury might consider reducing the supply of long-term Treasuries.
Jensen Huang: AI will bring transformation, and current market volatility will eventually pass. At an event in Berlin, Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA (NVDA.US), stated that the current market turbulence in the AI sector will ultimately subside, for a simple reason: AI will drive transformation and have profoundly positive impacts on every industry and every country. There is no doubt that AI development will continue to advance, and we are still at the very beginning of this journey. Huang noted that recent market news has been inconsistent, but this will not alter the underlying fundamentals of the industry. Large-scale hardware investments will ultimately yield returns and alleviate market unease. Despite recent sell-offs in AI chip and infrastructure stocks, as investors worry that rising borrowing costs may make AI spending unsustainable, Huang remains optimistic about the AI market and its broader economic impact. He urged investors to focus on first principles and fundamentals, maintaining a long-term perspective on value.
[Individual Stock News]
AWS CFO: AI Spending Is Sustainable; Server Investment Payback Period Under Three Years. According to reports, John Felton, CFO of Amazon’s cloud services (AWS), stated that spending on AI infrastructure and services is sustainable, as these investments are driving meaningful innovation. Felton noted that AWS’s AI capital expenditures are generating returns, and businesses should view AI as a tool to enhance productivity—not merely as a cost-cutting measure. He also revealed that, as of the second quarter, AWS’s order backlog approached $500 billion, encompassing large enterprises, AI labs, and small-to-medium businesses, which gives him “confidence” in the company’s capital allocation strategy. “Demand is real,” he emphasized. Felton added that the payback period for AWS’s AI server investments is under three years. Regarding the sustainability of returns on AI investments, Felton cited internal AWS data showing a “roughly linear relationship” between token usage and productivity gains. AWS is currently achieving “significant returns on investment and productivity improvements” and plans to further expand its investments in this area.
Bank of America plans to issue up to four tranches of investment-grade bonds with a maximum maturity of 11 years. Bank of America (BAC.US) has launched an investment-grade bond offering, becoming the third major Wall Street bank this week to enter the volatile bond market for financing following the release of its third-quarter earnings. According to a person directly familiar with the matter, Bank of America is marketing up to four bond tranches with maturities ranging from three to 11 years. The longest-dated tranche is initially priced to yield approximately 120 basis points above U.S. Treasuries. This rare Friday bond issuance comes as several corporations have recently delayed offerings of high-grade bonds. Fluctuations in U.S. Treasury yields, driven by stronger-than-expected inflation data and concerns over AI trading, have prompted companies to postpone their financing plans. Bank of America is the only one of the six largest Wall Street banks that did not access the bond market in the third quarter, raising just $17 billion year-to-date—the lowest among the six. Its most recent bond offering was in April, when it raised $10 billion.
Apple's iPhone Duo sold out rapidly after pre-orders opened, with some orders expected to ship in December or later. Shortly after pre-orders for Apple's (AAPL.US) first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, opened on Friday, estimated delivery dates were pushed back to December or beyond. The swift extension of shipping timelines indicates that strong demand and severely limited supply may make this $1,999 device difficult to obtain on its official launch date of October 23 and for some time afterward. Apple’s online store shows that estimated delivery times have been delayed for all color options and storage capacities of the iPhone Duo, covering all configurations from 256GB to 2TB. Some pre-order customers reported that even after following Apple’s recommendations to pre-select colors and storage capacities to expedite their purchase, they still encountered delayed delivery dates. Inventory for the iPhone Duo at Apple retail stores also sold out almost instantly after pre-orders opened at 8 a.m. Eastern Time on launch day. This is Apple’s first foldable device. In contrast, when Apple launched the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max in September, customers who placed orders promptly were generally able to secure their devices; the difficulty of securing an iPhone Duo this time is significantly higher. Market research firm Counterpoint Research estimated last month that Apple will sell approximately 6 million iPhone Duo units this year.
[Major Broker Ratings]
Wedbush: Lowers Netflix (NFLX.US) price target from $105 to $90
Wells Fargo: Lowers target price for Western Digital (WDC.US) from $730 to $450
STONEX: Raises target price for Microsoft (MSFT.US) from $525 to $600