Tuesday (October 20) saw the three major US stock indices close mixed. By the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.02% to 52,495.88 points; the S&P 500 rose 0.28% to 7,712.57 points; and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.02% to 26,424.82 points. Among the 30 Dow components, 22 advanced and 8 declined. 3M posted the largest gain, climbing 5.78%, after its pre-market earnings report showed adjusted earnings per share of $2.50, beating market expectations.
In early US trading, word spread that "Iran and the United States are about to reach an agreement," but diplomats involved in the Iran-US negotiations later said "the report was inaccurate," causing international oil prices to pare losses and US stocks to give back some gains. Recently, concerns over debt and demand have made the market worried about the sustainability of AI trades, which at one point weighed on sentiment toward US tech stocks. But during the session, some AI stocks began to rebound. Jake Behan, head of capital markets at Direxion, said, "For most of this year, the market has been willing to accept higher interest rates because the growth outlook was strong enough, especially in the field of artificial intelligence." "Last week, we saw this relationship begin to be tested. Hyperscale data center operators will report earnings in the coming weeks, which will serve as the next major stress test for the AI industry." Behan added: "Guidance on return on investment, data center spending and 2027 capital expenditures is undoubtedly more important than the headline earnings figures."
Popular Stock Performance
Most tech giants declined, (ranked by market cap) Nvidia fell 0.29%, Apple dropped 1%, Google Class C slid 1.11%, Microsoft lost 0.31%, Amazon edged up 0.07%, Meta fell 1.59%, and Tesla gained 1.54%. SpaceX fell 0.11%, then rebounded more than 6% after releasing its earnings report after hours. The company's third-quarter revenue beat market expectations. Musk expects SpaceX's annual recurring revenue to reach $500 billion to $1 trillion by the end of 2027.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 0.29%, with 11 components advancing and 19 declining. Lam Research dropped 3.21%, ARM fell 3.07%, ASML declined 0.99%, AMD lost 0.62%, Intel fell 0.37%, and Broadcom slipped 0.07%. Memory-related stocks were mixed: Western Digital rose 3.44%, Seagate Technology gained 2.17%, SanDisk fell 0.42%, Micron Technology dropped 0.98%, SK Hynix declined 2.16%, and the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) fell 1.26%. In optical communications, the Roundhill Photonics & Optics ETF (LYTE) fell 0.25%. AAOI dropped 1.87%, Lumentum fell 1.44%, CRDO declined 0.75%, Coherent slipped 0.09%, and Marvell Technology rose 1.4%. Weight-loss drug concept stocks led gains: KLRA surged 12.77%, VKTX climbed 6.63%, Amgen rose 3.29%, and Novo Nordisk gained 2.42%. Eli Lilly rose 3.49%, continuing to hit new highs, as the company plans to seek expanded indications for its intestinal disease therapy.
Among Chinese concept stocks, the Livermore China Concept Leaders Index closed up 0.59%, and the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index gained 0.68%. Most popular Chinese concept stocks advanced: Hesai rose 8.28%, XPeng Group gained 7.6%, Li Auto climbed 5.67%, Pony.ai rose 5.39%, and Zai Lab gained 4.24%. TAL Education fell 2.61%, and Tencent Music dropped 1.15%.
Company News
[Musk: SpaceX and Tesla Have Formed a Committee to Discuss Merger] Musk said a merger between Tesla and SpaceX is not a done deal, shareholders would need to support it, and there are many advantages to combining Tesla and SpaceX. Musk stated that SpaceX and Tesla have formed a committee to discuss the merger.
[SpaceX Third-Quarter Revenue of $14.58 Billion Beats Market Expectations] SpaceX's third-quarter revenue was $14.58 billion, up 161% year-over-year, versus analyst expectations of $12.8 billion. Space business revenue was $1.77 billion, against market expectations of $1.43 billion, while AI revenue was $7.56 billion, compared with market estimates of $6.3 billion. The company's third-quarter net profit was $4.4 billion, versus analyst expectations of $1.88 billion, and third-quarter earnings per share were $0.35, compared with estimates of $0.15. Third-quarter capital expenditures were $19.59 billion, versus expectations of $19.6 billion.
[Apple Signs Agreements with US Companies for Key Materials and Components for iPhone Duo] Apple announced on October 20 that it has established or expanded partnerships with several US companies that will supply key materials and components for the iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro. Specifically, Apple reached a partnership with titanium producer Perryman Company, which will supply titanium for Apple products including the iPhone Duo, with Apple providing up to $100 million in funding support over three years. In addition, Apple expanded its collaboration with Qnity Electronics, which will produce components needed for the new variable aperture technology in the iPhone 18 Pro camera system.
[Tesla and Bulgarian Companies to Invest Over €350 Million in Multiple Energy Storage Projects] The Bulgarian government said in a statement on October 20 that Bulgarian companies and Tesla will jointly develop three energy storage projects with a total capacity of more than 2,300 megawatt-hours and total investment exceeding €350 million. The first battery storage facility, Tvarditsa, is expected to be commissioned in the second quarter of 2027. The project will build an electricity storage system based on Tesla's Megapack 2XL technology with a capacity of 300 megawatt-hours.
[Qualcomm Plans to Unify Regional V2X Standards and Advance Global Connected Vehicle Solutions] Qualcomm announced it will integrate vehicle-to-everything (V2X) standards across different regions, advancing a globally unified V2X solution that supports information exchange among vehicles, road infrastructure and other road users to improve traffic safety and efficiency.
[Waymo Plans to Enter the Spanish Market Next Year, Launching Autonomous Ride-Hailing Services in Madrid] Waymo, Alphabet's autonomous driving company, announced on October 20 that it plans to enter the Spanish market next year with autonomous ride-hailing services in the Madrid area. The company said it plans to launch autonomous ride-hailing services in London, UK this year, Tokyo, Japan next year, and Toronto, Canada in 2028.
[Bank of America Launches Perpetual Bond Offering, Its Second Debt Deal in Days] Bank of America launched its second investment-grade bond offering in days, issuing perpetual bonds after raising $8 billion last week. People familiar with the matter said the bonds can be redeemed as early as after five years, with initial yield discussions in the range of 7.5% to 7.625%. Bank of America issued $2.5 billion of similar notes in July 2025 at a yield of 6.25%. On October 16, BofA unusually issued $8 billion of high-grade bonds on a Friday, choosing to tap the market even after a turbulent week in credit markets that disrupted many borrowers' financing plans. So far this year, BofA has issued $25 billion of investment-grade bonds.
[RTX Raises Full-Year Operating Profit Growth Forecast for Pratt & Whitney] RTX's chief financial officer said that, driven by strong aftermarket demand and $170 million in IEEPA-related payments, Pratt & Whitney's 2026 operating profit forecast was raised to $475 million to $525 million, up from a previous forecast of $275 million to $350 million.
[Anthropic Reported to Have Posted $80.7 Billion Net Loss in First Half, May Spend Another $750 Billion on Computing Power in Coming Years] Anthropic may spend another $750 billion on computing power in the coming years. According to a draft prospectus report, the AI company posted a net loss of $80.7 billion in the first half of fiscal 2026, far larger than its $13 billion net loss in the same period a year earlier. The report said the vast majority of the first-half net loss—$72 billion—came from accounting charges related to changes in the value of convertible notes and other instruments issued by Anthropic.
Comments