Stocks Slide Early as Oil, Yields March Higher
Published as of: October 8, 2026, 9:13 a.m. ET
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| The markets | Last price | Change | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500® Index | 7,801.74 | -17.16 | -0.22% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average® | 51,179.87 | -341.41 | -0.66% |
| Nasdaq Composite® | 27,538.69 | -61.20 | -0.22% |
| 10-year Treasury yield | 5.32% | +0.05 | -- |
| U.S. Dollar Index | 102.37 | +0.13 | +0.12% |
| Cboe Volatility Index® | 15.70 | +0.62 | +4.11% |
| Gold | $4,141.30 | +$0.60 | +0.01% |
| WTI Crude Oil | $92.46 | +$4.18 | +4.73% |
| Bitcoin | $82,167 | -$1,109.83 | -1.33% |
(Thursday market open) Rising oil prices and Treasury yields pushed stocks lower again early Thursday.
Signs of escalation in the Middle East sent oil about 5% higher, while yields also got a boost from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Wallace's statement that multiple rate increases might be needed to tame inflation within "an acceptable period of time."
Stocks fell Wednesday, with seven of 11 S&P 500 Index sectors losing ground a day after the index closed at a record high. Treasuries set the tone for the day as yields on the 10-year and 30-year notes hit the highest level since 2002, but yields retreated after an auction of 10-year notes found strong demand.
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Three things to watch
- Fed policy makers united, mostly: The unanimous vote to raise interest rates at last month's meeting masked some differing views on key topics, minutes from the Fed's September meeting showed Wednesday. While most agreed another rate hike would be needed this year, "some participants" took a more hawkish view of the risks they faced, saying higher rates were needed to tamp down emerging demand-driven inflation rather than simply limit the impact of higher oil prices and other supply-related shocks. Some also said higher rates were needed to prevent inflation expectations from becoming unanchored. Several said they viewed the current policy rate as not restrictive or only mildly restrictive. Market expectations of another rate hike at the Fed's October 27-28 meeting tumbled last week, though, after two top Fed officials said there was little urgency to act again this month. On Wednesday afternoon, futures trading priced in a 17% chance of a rate hike this month, down from 19% earlier in the day, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
- Signs of broadening market participation: Investors will want to keep an eye on whether recent signs of improved market breadth signal a sustained broadening of participation as the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq look to reclaim record highs. Multiple breadth indicators that had fallen to levels not seen since the April 2025 market correction have turned higher in recent sessions. That's a good sign—any market advance is healthier and likely more durable when more than just a handful of mega cap stocks participate. Though metrics still point to poor breadth overall, those that have improved recently include the percentages of S&P 500 stocks trading above their 50- and 200-day moving averages. So far, the recent market imbalance hasn't marked a classic rotation to defensive sectors such as utilities and consumer staples, said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Schwab Center for Financial Research (SCFR). "This is less about rotation and more about concentration, with money crowding into a narrow set of stocks," Sonders said.
- AI's unevenly distributed impact: It's quite early, and the evidence is limited, but AI-driven job destruction has so far been contained to a few industries, particularly information technology and finance. Those two alone have shed a combined 120,000 positions since February, at a time when overall nonfarm payrolls grew by about 600,000 positions. The total number of positions in information tech has fallen to near the lowest level since 2015, with a marked decline starting after ChatGPT's introduction in late 2022. Meanwhile, more than 500,000 AI-related positions were created from 2024 until now, but more than half were data annotation roles, often lower-paying contract positions. The data center buildout has also created more than 100,000 jobs, while a similar number of AI engineer positions have been created, while other high-skilled AI jobs number in the tens of thousands. The good news for investors: Productivity is rising, and prices are rising faster than labor costs, fattening profit margins.
Crypto currents
Bitcoin holds above profitability thresholds on light volume: Bitcoin fell more than 2% Wednesday, but its price remains above multiple metrics of investor cost basis, which range from about $76,000 to $83,000. That means most investors are sitting on unrealized gains, which supports risk-taking sentiment and often translates into bullish market behavior. Meanwhile, futures open interest is rising, another potentially bullish sign, though leverage remains moderate by historical standards. Historically, the combination of improving profitability and rising leverage has often coincided with expanding participation across the broader digital asset ecosystem. Still, trading volume in the bitcoin spot market remains unusually low—and has been below average every day for more than two weeks, according to Glassnode data. That will need to change for bitcoin bulls to keep the rally going and challenge last year's record highs.
On the move
- Broadcom (AVGO) fell more than 1% in premarket trading after The Wall Street Journal reported that the company is trying to borrow more than $50 billion in relation to custom AI chips it is developing with OpenAI.
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) fell more than 1% before the opening bell after reporting year-over-year revenue growth of 55% in the third quarter.
- PepsiCo (PEP) rose more than 2% in early trading after reporting third-quarter earnings and revenue that topped forecasts.
- Palantir (PLTR) rose more than 2% in premarket trading after Goldman Sachs raised its rating to buy from neutral.
- Wells Fargo (WFC) fell 1.5% Wednesday after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration was launching an investigation into the bank's commitments regarding increasing home ownership among Black Americans.
- Health care was one of the few sectors recording gains Wednesday, rising 1% on the day. Moderna (MRNA), Eli Lilly (LLY), Amgen (AMGN), and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) all rose more than 2%.
More insights from Schwab
Market snapshot: A market that leans heavily on a small group of stocks is a more fragile one, with less of a cushion if the leadership follows. Liz Ann Sonders explains why that's a good reason to resist judging the broader market, or a portfolio, solely by the index levels.
A quick check on breadth, yields: In the latest edition of 2 Minutes on the Markets, Kasey McCurdy, chief portfolio strategist for Schwab Wealth Advisory, reviews key charts and shares updated portfolio views.
Do IPOs signal euphoria? Some investors hold the opinion that the more active the IPO market, the more likely it is that the broad market is near a top. Schwab's article crunches the numbers to explore this theory.
Baby boom: Growing one's family doesn't just change your life… it changes your financial outlook. Schwab looked at five steps to help potential parents evaluate by how much.
AI's labor market impact: For a full analysis of how AI is affecting the labor market, read the latest deep dive by Sonders and Kevin Gordon, head of macro research and strategy at SCFR.
Run up to the midterms: In an election preview episode of Washington Wise, Mike Townsend, managing director of legislative and regulatory affairs at Schwab, offers his guide to the 2026 midterms, including the latest outlook for control of the House and Senate, the key races that could determine the balance of power, and why divided government is emerging as the most likely outcome.
Chart of the day
Data source: CME Group. Chart source: thinkorswim® platform.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
For illustrative purposes only.
A four-hour chart of WTI crude oil futures (/CL—candlesticks) shows a narrowing trading range, while the MACD indicator shows a bullish divergence and the ADX trend indicator sits at an extreme low, which often precedes a move.
The week ahead
October 9: Expected earnings from Delta Air Lines (DAL) and preliminary University of Michigan October consumer sentiment.
October 12: No major earnings or data expected.
October 13: Expected earnings from JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS), Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C), UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Domino's Pizza (DPZ). and existing home sales for September.
October 14: September Consumer Price Index (CPI) and core CPI, Fed Beige Book, and expected earnings from ASML (ASML), Bank of America (BAC), Morgan Stanley (MS), BlackRock (BLK), Progressive (PGR), Fastenal (FAST), and State Street Corporation (STT).
October 15: Expected earnings from Charles Schwab (SCHW), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), PNC Financial Services (PNC), U.S. Bancorp (USB), and Producer Price Index for September and initial jobless claims.