Wall Street mixed, Brent crude tops $105 on October 13, 2026

1. US EQUITIES MIXED AS CHIP STOCKS SLUMP
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 195.60 points, or 0.38%, to 51,850.55, while the S&P 500 fell 4.30 points, or 0.06%, to 7,807.24 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 120.27 points, or 0.44%, to 27,245.90. Selling hit semiconductor shares after China's CXMT announced progress on a denser DRAM design; Micron fell 3.9%, US-listed SK Hynix dropped 4% and Sandisk slid 6%. In contrast, Salesforce rose 2% after a Bank of America double upgrade, eBay added 4% after Morgan Stanley named it a Top Pick, and Meta rose about 3%. Goldman Sachs also upgraded global equities to overweight from neutral on a three-month view.

2. BRENT CRUDE TOPS $105 AS RED SEA TENSIONS RISE
Brent crude rose above $105-106 a barrel, near two-week highs, while WTI traded around $93.16 a barrel, up 1.43%. The move followed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia that overshadowed the Russia-Ukraine energy ceasefire. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy alleged that Russia had already violated the energy ceasefire; no official Russian response was included in the data. A Saudi-led coalition was also fending off new Houthi drone and missile attacks. Oxford Economics said it expects Brent to average above $100 a barrel through Q2 2027 following attacks on Red Sea export infrastructure.

3. OPEC SLASHES 2026 OIL DEMAND GROWTH FORECAST
OPEC cut its 2026 global oil demand growth forecast from 1.4 million barrels per day to 0.4 million barrels per day, with delayed demand expected to emerge in 2027. The sharp downgrade contrasts with supply worries in the Red Sea and may keep oil prices volatile in coming sessions.

4. DOLLAR INDEX HITS MULTI-MONTH HIGH, GOLD SLIPS
The US Dollar Index rose 0.35% to 102.58, its highest since April/May 2025. EUR/USD fell 0.42% to 1.1155, GBP/USD slipped 0.19% to 1.3209, and USD/JPY rose 0.22% to 158.6410. The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 5.244%. Spot gold fell about 0.54-0.56% to around $4,170-4,171 an ounce, while COMEX gold futures dropped 0.48% to $4,195.90 an ounce. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said restrictive policy is needed to return inflation to 2% and that smaller, more frequent rate adjustments can help anchor expectations, though she stopped short of backing another hike this month. A Swedish Riksbank official said a rate hike before year-end may be reasonable as the economy improves.

5. VIETNAM'S VN-INDEX EXTENDS LOSING STREAK
Vietnam's VN-Index fell 14.11 points to 1,720.98, its fourth straight decline. Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange reached nearly VND13 trillion, about US$501 million. Analysts expected the index to test support at 1,700-1,710 points on October 13. Asian stock futures pointed lower for Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea after the US chipmaker selloff, while Australian futures edged higher.

6. INDIA INFLATION RISES, US HOUSING DATA WEAKENS
India's September CPI rose 5.54% year-on-year, the highest since late 2024, supporting the Reserve Bank of India's recent rate hike. In the US, Redfin data showed pending home sales fell 4% month-on-month to the lowest since 2014. The IMF Managing Director said AI infrastructure investment is supporting global growth near 3%, with Asia the main beneficiary; the IMF World Economic Outlook is due on October 13.

What to watch today: The US Q3 earnings season begins with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo; RBA September meeting minutes are also due.

*Information compiled for reference, reflecting multiple sources at the time of posting.*