Dow Up, Nasdaq Down as Oil Jumps and Chips Slide; Meta Rallies, Micron Falls

It's Monday, October twelfth. This is Trade and Ticker, the lunch report. Here's your midday check on U.S. stocks.

Three things still matter into the afternoon. First, oil, which is up about two percent and back near two-week highs after a weekend of attacks in the Middle East. Second, a sharp selloff in chip stocks, led by memory, while money rotates into energy, software, and Meta. Third, a quiet holiday session for bonds, with the Treasury market closed for Columbus Day, right before bank earnings start tomorrow morning.

Here's the picture at midday. It's a split market. As of about one-thirteen Eastern, the Dow is up about four-tenths of a percent, or a little over two hundred points, near a three-week high. The S-and-P is basically flat, down less than a tenth of a percent. The Nasdaq is down about four-tenths of a percent, and small companies are down about three-tenths. The Dow is leading because chips carry less weight there, and the Nasdaq is lagging because chips carry a lot. Energy is the strongest corner of the market, followed by consumer staples and communication services. Technology is the weakest, down more than one percent.

Oil is setting the tone. Brent crude is up almost two percent, near one hundred six dollars and sixty cents a barrel. U.S. crude is up about two percent, near ninety-three dollars and seventy cents. Over the weekend, a deadly Houthi strike hit Saudi Arabia's main airport in Riyadh, and Russia pounded Ukrainian energy targets after President Trump announced an energy truce between the two countries. That took the air out of an early dip in crude. Exxon Mobil is up about two percent, Chevron is up nearly two, and tanker owners like Frontline are up more than four percent. Gold is down about six-tenths of a percent, and the market's fear gauge is up only slightly, near fifteen.

The weak spot is chips. The Philadelphia semiconductor index is down more than two percent. Micron is down more than three percent and has slipped back below one thousand dollars a share, after China's leading memory chip maker said it is making progress on a new memory design that packs in more data. Intel is down about three percent, A-M-D is down more than two and a half, and Nvidia and Broadcom are each down more than one percent. Oracle is down about three percent, and Amazon is down about one percent even after a report that it is in talks to buy an A-I startup. Iren, which jumped early on a reported cloud deal with Anthropic, has given all of that back and is flat.

Buyers are finding other homes. Meta is up nearly four percent, the best of the megacaps, with investors warming to its Muse A-I assistant. Microsoft and Apple are each up about one percent. Salesforce is up nearly two percent after Bank of America double-upgraded it to buy from underperform, and that is part of what is lifting the Dow. Shopify is up about three percent. And the wireless carriers are bouncing after Friday's historic selloff on the SpaceX airwaves deal. T-Mobile is up about three percent, Verizon is up two, and A-T-and-T is up almost one percent, a small piece of what they lost.

A few other movers. Chipotle is down more than four percent after Starbucks said it is not buying the burrito chain. Starbucks is up about one and a half percent. Ion Q is down about nine percent after agreeing to buy the cybersecurity company Elisity in a deal worth up to one-point-three billion dollars.

After the close today, there are no major earnings. The real catalysts arrive overnight and first thing tomorrow. The bond market reopens Tuesday, with the ten-year yield last near five-point-two-four percent, close to its highest level since two thousand two. Then JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup report before the opening bell. Bank stocks are mostly holding up today. Citigroup is up more than one percent, JPMorgan is up about four-tenths, Wells Fargo is flat, and Goldman is down about three-tenths. The September consumer price index follows on Wednesday, with headline inflation expected near three-point-seven percent from a year ago, as higher energy costs push it up.

Watch three things into the close. First, whether chip stocks find a floor, or whether Micron's slide below one thousand dollars drags the Nasdaq lower into the final hour. Second, oil, and whether Brent holds above one hundred six dollars on any new Gulf headlines. Third, whether the Dow can push toward fifty-two thousand while the S-and-P stays stuck near flat. And a bit of history for the day: the S-and-P's current bull market turned four years old today.

That's the midday picture. We'll be back this evening with a company deep dive on the day's biggest stories, including Micron and the memory chip selloff, Meta's rally, and a preview of tomorrow's big bank reports. Thanks for listening. I'm Trade and Ticker.