US stocks hover near their latest record in mixed trading on Wall Street
[October 13, 2026] By
DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA
Wall Street kicked off a busy week on Monday with a mixed finish for the
major U.S. stock indexes, although the market remained near its all-time
high.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% after wavering between small gains and losses.
The benchmark index set a record high last Tuesday and is up 14% so far
this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite
fell 0.4%.
Shares in roughly 64% of the companies in the S&P 500 rose, led by
communication services stocks. Meta Platforms rose 3.4%, T-Mobile added
2.2%, AT&T gained 1.4% and Verizon Communications rose 2.7%.
Energy stocks had some of the biggest gains as oil prices kept rising.
Chevron rose 1.4%.
Despite those gains, a slide in big technology stocks dragged the market
into the red.
Micron Technology fell 3.9%, Advanced Micro Devices dropped 2.3%,
Broadcom slid 1.9% and Nvidia gave up 1.3%. They are among several
companies in the sector with big stock values that tend to have a heavy
influence on the market. They have also been the driving force behind
the broader market’s record gains throughout the year.
Those companies could face more scrutiny from investors during this
round of corporate earnings as Wall Street tries to get a better sense
of whether the stock gains made during the frenzy over artificial
intelligence can translate into future growth.
“AI continues to support growth, reinforcing the outlook for tech and
critical suppliers across the supply chain," wrote Magdalena Ocampo,
market strategist at Principal Asset Management, in a report. ”Yet
uncertainty about AI’s long-term impact persists, making future gains
more reliant on earnings delivery rather than potential."
Stocks are reaching for records often because of the tech sector, but
remain very volatile on a daily basis, partly because of big shifts in
oil prices and their impact on bond yields and inflation.
The price of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 1.8% to
settle at $106.65 per barrel. Prices have been swinging between $96 and
nearly $110 over the last month over uncertainty about the U.S. war with
Iran and its continued impact on global energy supplies and inflation.
Prices jumped despite President Donald Trump's announcement on social
media Friday that he struck a deal to buy Russian diesel with Russian
President Vladimir Putin, aiming to tamp down a spike in fuel prices
ahead of the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections. The plan, though, runs
counter to U.S. efforts to cut the flow of money Russia gets from oil
and gas sales that can be used to pay for its war against Ukraine.
Higher oil prices have been driving gasoline prices higher. That's a
direct hit to many people's wallets, as gasoline is usually a necessary
expense. The rise in diesel is more indirect, raising the costs for just
about any shipped product, which usually results in higher prices for
everything from food to clothing.
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Options traders, including Marty Handler, foreground, and Matt
Hefter, right, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange,
Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
 The surge in energy prices and its
impact on the broader economy will be a key focus this week as Wall
Street reviews several important economic updates. They include
fresh data on the housing market, inflation and retail sales.
The big updates this week involve reports about inflation hitting
consumers and businesses. On Wednesday, the government will release
the closely-watched consumer price index, or CPI, which measures
price changes for a wide range of products and services. Economists
expect the index to show the rate of inflation worsened to 3.6% in
September from 3.4% in August.
A report on inflation called the producer price index will be
released on Thursday and is also expected to show that inflation
remains stubbornly high. It measures inflation faced by businesses
before it hits consumers.
An update on how consumers are reacting to high prices will be
released on Thursday. Economists expect the report on retail sales
for September to show that households pulled back on spending.
The rate of inflation by any measure remains well above the Federal
Reserve's target rate of 2%. That prompted the central bank to raise
its benchmark interest rate at its last meeting in an effort to cool
inflation. Wall Street expects another rate hike before the year
ends.
Inflation and expectations for high interest rates have been driving
Treasury yields higher in the bond market. The 10-year Treasury
yield, which influences mortgage rates, recently touched its highest
level since 2002. It has since eased a bit and stood at 5.24% late
Friday. U.S. bond trading was closed Monday for the Columbus Day
holiday.
Higher mortgage rates have been weighing on the housing market and
Wall Street will get an update on home sales on Tuesday.
The latest round of corporate earnings updates ramps up this week
with financial results from banks. Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and
Wells Fargo will report their results on Tuesday and Bank of America
will report its results on Wednesday. They have been reporting
record profits throughout the year and Wall Street expects more of
the same for the latest quarter.
Markets in Europe gained ground and markets in Asia were mostly
lower. Markets in Tokyo were closed for a holiday.
All told, the S&P 500 fell 4.30 points to 7,807.24. The Nasdaq
dropped 120.27 points to 27,245.90. The Dow gained 195.60 points to
close at 51,850.55.
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AP Business Writers Michelle Chapman and Elaine Kurtenbach
contributed to this report.
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