Oil Jump Drags the Dow as Chips Bounce; Phone Stocks Slide on SpaceX Report

It's Friday, October twenty-third. 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 is jumping again, and that's pulling the Dow down about one percent. Second, chip stocks are bouncing after Thursday's selloff, and that has the Nasdaq slightly higher. Third, phone company stocks are falling on a report about SpaceX's wireless plans.

Here's the picture at midday. It's a split market. Just before one o'clock Eastern, the Dow is down about one percent, or roughly five hundred fifty points. The S-and-P is down about three-tenths of a percent. And the Nasdaq is just barely higher, up less than a tenth of a percent. The Russell two thousand is down about a quarter of a percent. The S-and-P is on track for a second straight weekly loss.

Energy is the clear leader. The energy group is up almost three percent and hit a record high, with Exxon and Chevron each up more than two and a half percent. Technology is up about seven-tenths of a percent. Most other groups are lower. Consumer staples are the worst, down about two percent, giving back part of Thursday's big rally. Retailers and other consumer names, banks, industrials, and communication services are each down more than one percent.

Now the chips. The Philadelphia chip index is up almost one percent. Micron is up more than three percent, and A-M-D and Intel are each up about one and a half. Nvidia is about flat. Cybersecurity stocks are strong too. Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike are each up more than six percent. Meta is down less than one percent, and Tesla is about flat after Thursday's drops.

The phone story is a big one. A report said SpaceX is in talks for access to at least eighty thousand U.S. cell sites, a possible step toward its own nationwide wireless service. A-T-and-T is down about six percent, and T-Mobile is down almost six. Verizon is down about one percent, well off its early low. Tower owners are higher. Crown Castle is up about nine and a half percent, and American Tower is up more than three. SpaceX itself is up almost two percent.

What's weighing on the Dow? American Express is down almost four percent, even after it raised its profit forecast this morning. Caterpillar is down more than two percent, Home Depot almost three, and Procter and Gamble about two. Elsewhere, Bloom Energy is down about twelve percent, even after raising its forecast for the year. Deckers is down about four percent after sales came in below forecasts.

Now oil and rates. U.S. crude is up about three percent, near one hundred two dollars a barrel, and Brent is near its highest level in more than five months on Middle East supply worries. That adds to inflation worries ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting next week. The ten-year Treasury yield is up slightly, at about four-point-nine-nine percent. On the economy, a survey of business activity from S-and-P Global showed growth cooling a bit this month, with prices rising at the fastest pace in more than four years. And the University of Michigan said consumer sentiment barely changed this month, at forty-eight, about ten percent below a year ago.

There are no major earnings after the close today. The bigger catalysts come next week, with Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon reporting, the Fed meeting, and a first look at third-quarter growth.

Watch three things into the close. First, whether U.S. crude holds above one hundred dollars. Second, whether the chip bounce can last into the weekend. Third, whether the phone stocks keep sliding on the SpaceX news.

That's the midday picture. We'll be back this evening with a company deep dive on the day's biggest stories. Thanks for listening. I'm Trade and Ticker.