The Opener, October 23, 2026

Thursday's risk-on trade, which had shrugged off Gulf escalation as chips and data-center names rallied, gave way overnight to the opposite dynamic: a tech-led unwind that sent the Nasdaq to its worst session since June, with Treasury yields and gold both sliding rather than rising together with oil as they had Tuesday. Meta Platforms' credit default swaps hit a record high on spending concerns, erasing roughly $100 billion in its market value and dragging semiconductors down sharply, while the 10-year yield fell below 5% for the first time since September 23.

Oil itself reversed hard into the weekend, posting its sharpest weekly drop since April. Iran's Fars news agency now reports Tehran has stopped illicit vessel traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, and earlier reporting described crude flows through the strait recovering toward pre-war levels even as diesel supplies stay tight from Russian refinery attacks and constrained shipments. Trump dismissed reports of Iranian strikes on tankers as an attempt to lift prices ahead of the midterms, while a US envoy told the Financial Times Washington is prepared for a long standoff with Iran. Houthi attacks on Saudi targets, including claimed strikes on King Fahd Airport and an Aramco site, continued through the week.

Data overnight was mixed. UK services PMI for October rose to 53.1, well above the 51.8 expected, while Germany's composite PMI fell to 52.8, missing forecasts. Japan's September core CPI came in at 2.1%, in line, and the Bank of Japan reiterated that rates remain far from neutral with a December hike in focus. UK retail sales fell 0.4% in September, worse than the 0.1% decline expected.

Premarket, real estate and telecom-infrastructure names are the standout gainers, with Crown Castle up 7.9% and American Tower up 5.6%. Chip and optical names tied to Thursday's rout are bouncing, led by SK hynix up 5.1%, Lumentum up 4.0% and Ciena up 3.2%, even as SK Hynix confirmed it has scrapped a planned US IPO of Solidigm. On the downside, Deckers Brands is down 8.5% despite beating estimates and raising full-year guidance, Grocery Outlet is off 6.0%, and Moderna extends its decline, down 4.7%, after Thursday's institutional selling. Telecom carriers remain weak, with T-Mobile down 3.9% and AT&T down 3.7%, continuing Thursday's post-earnings slide.