S&P 5007,580.07−1.82%
NASDAQ COMPOSITE25,437.00−2.86%
DOW JONES51,770.31−1.09%
STOXX EUROPE 600647.06+0.05%
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BRENT CRUDE106.71−5.92%
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GOLD3,956.60+1.48%
USD/JPY157.800.00%
BITCOIN77,765−0.62%
VIX19.42+12.91%

October 2026 Markets by the Numbers: Brent Up 19%, Nasdaq Down 5%

January Brent rose 19.3% in October and the 10-year Treasury yield fell 0.35 point, while the Nasdaq lost 5.3%, gold 6.9% and the Kospi 16.2%.

By Global Terminal Staff · · 3 min read

Trading charts displayed on several computer screens and a tablet
Photo: Jakub Żerdzicki / Unsplash

Why it matters

  • January Brent crude rose 19.3% in October, from $95.09 on Sept. 30 to $113.43 on Oct. 30, as attacks on Saudi Arabia widened the Middle East war. It was the biggest mover in our scorecard.
  • Bonds rallied while stocks split. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.94% from 5.29%, Treasury data show, but the Nasdaq Composite fell 5.3% and the Dow rose 1.7%.
  • Gold fell 6.9% and bitcoin 7.3%, while the dollar index rose 0.4% and the yen slipped 0.25% against the dollar. Asia was weakest, led by a 16.2% drop in South Korea's Kospi.

Analysis: this piece includes our interpretation of the facts reported.

Oil was October's big winner and Asian stocks its big losers. January Brent crude futures rose 19.3% to $113.43 a barrel between the Sept. 30 and Oct. 30 closes, and the 10-year Treasury yield fell 0.35 percentage point to 4.94%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.3%, gold fell 6.9% and South Korea's Kospi fell 16.2%, Yahoo Finance and Treasury data show.

The table compares the last close of September (Wednesday, Sept. 30) with the last trading day of October (Friday, Oct. 30).

How did markets do in October 2026?

MarketSept. 30Oct. 30October change
S&P 5007,651.547,580.07-0.93%
Dow Jones50,906.0551,770.31+1.70%
Nasdaq Composite26,861.0625,437.00-5.30%
Russell 20002,796.862,811.84+0.54%
STOXX Europe 600634.89646.75+1.87%
Nikkei 22566,753.7263,290.11-5.19%
Hang Seng24,613.2723,294.42-5.36%
Shanghai Composite3,842.203,599.02-6.33%
Kospi6,838.045,730.74-16.19%
Ibovespa186,340167,922-9.88%
U.S. 10-year yield5.29%4.94%-0.35 point
U.S. 2-year yield4.88%4.56%-0.32 point
Dollar index (DXY)101.45101.88+0.42%
Yen per dollar157.40157.80+0.25% (weaker yen)
Brent, January futures ($)95.09113.43+19.29%
WTI, December futures ($)88.42104.12+17.76%
Gold, December futures ($)4,186.703,898.90-6.87%
Bitcoin ($)83,55477,435-7.32%

Sources: Yahoo Finance daily closes; U.S. Treasury par yields. Bitcoin trades every day, so its figures are the Sept. 30 and Oct. 31 closes at midnight UTC. Changes are Global Terminal calculations.

What drove oil and bonds?

The Middle East drove oil. Brent settled at $116.72 on Oct. 23, its highest close since April, after Houthi militants claimed strikes on Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port and an oil field, Bloomberg reported via Rigzone. The expiring December Brent contract rose 20% in the month, to $117.64 from $98.03. We tracked that rally in Brent's 6.2% weekly gain on the Saudi attacks.

Bonds rallied anyway. The Fed held its target range at 3.75% to 4% on Oct. 28 in a 10–2 vote, with Lisa D. Cook and Beth M. Hammack preferring a quarter-point hike, its statement said. Our look at real yields and breakevens before the Fed explains how the drop came mostly from real yields.

Why did tech and Brazil fall?

Spending and politics. Alphabet's capital spending more than doubled to $51.4 billion in the third quarter and its free cash flow was negative $9.1 billion, its Oct. 28 release showed. Our Big Tech capex scorecard adds Microsoft and Meta. In Brazil, the real fell more than 8% and Ibovespa futures hit their 15% daily limit on Oct. 26, after President Lula's reelection, MercoPress reported. The dollar ended the month up 3.5% at 5.38 reais, and our Brazil selloff by the numbers has the full damage.

How has November started?

Oil has reversed. Brent fell 6.1% to $106.50 on Monday, Nov. 2, as Iranian and Qatari officials held talks on ending the war, CNBC reported. U.S. stock futures rose.

Sources