Nasdaq Sinks on AI Fears, Oil Tops $113

In today’s business report for October 22, 2026, a fresh wave of selling in artificial intelligence stocks dragged the Nasdaq down 2.6% on Thursday, oil climbed to a five-month high on renewed Middle East tension, Treasury bonds staged their biggest one-day rally in more than three years, and Mass General Brigham, the state’s largest private employer, confirmed a new round of layoffs.

Stock Market Today: AI Selloff Sinks the Nasdaq

It was a lopsided day on Wall Street. The S&P 500 fell 1.21% to 7,663.39 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.60% to 26,008.86, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 10.76 points, or 0.02%, to 52,866.85, Business Insider reported. The Associated Press called it the S&P 500’s worst day since July, and noted that most stocks in the U.S. market actually rose. The damage was concentrated in the giant technology names that dominate the indexes.

Meta Platforms led the retreat. Its shares sank almost 7% after the company reported negative free cash flow of $2.12 billion for the third quarter and lifted the bottom of its full-year capital spending forecast to $135 billion, with a top end of $145 billion, CNBC reported. The cost of insuring Meta’s debt against default, measured by five-year credit default swaps, hit an all-time high. The Financial Times put the day’s loss in Meta’s market value at $124 billion, after the company said it would raise hundreds of billions of dollars in the coming years. Our earlier coverage explains Meta’s results and its new nonvoting Class C stock, which the FT reported was part of a deal to keep Mark Zuckerberg in California despite a proposed state wealth tax.

Tesla, IBM and chip-equipment maker Lam Research were also lower in early trading, according to CNBC’s morning rundown. Lam slid almost 9% in early trading after its outlook for the current quarter came in below what Wall Street had hoped for, pulling other semiconductor stocks lower. Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang told CNBC that demand for “neocloud” AI data-center providers is “off the charts,” while acknowledging a “scarcity of capital” in the sector.

The Economist framed the bigger picture this week, arguing that either AI or public debt could crash markets, but that both striking together would take a crisis on the scale of 2008. It pointed out that five-year bonds of CoreWeave, which rents out data centers, now yield 15%, up from 10% in July, and that the company’s stock has lost about a third of its value in a month. For context on how this slide began, see our report on last week’s tech selloff and AI debt fears.

Oil Prices Jump, Treasury Yields Tumble

Energy moved the other way. Brent crude, the global benchmark, jumped 4% to $113.17 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 2.39% to settle at $99.47, CNBC reported. The AP said oil reached its highest level since May. Prices climbed after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia and a New York Times report, citing unnamed U.S. officials, that the United States and Israel are weighing a “short but intensive” resumption of strikes on Iran after the November 3 midterm elections.

Bonds became the safe harbor. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell more than 17 basis points to 4.972%, its first close below 5% since September 23 and its biggest one-day drop since March 10, 2023, according to CNBC. The two-year yield slid to 4.659% and the 30-year to 5.296%. Lower yields matter at home because the 10-year rate helps set what Americans pay on mortgages and car loans.

In currencies, the Japanese yen gained 0.75% to 156.96 per dollar, its strongest daily move in almost a month, Reuters reported. The dollar index slipped 0.08% to 101.60, the euro eased to $1.1222 on worries about unrest and debt in France, and bitcoin dropped 4.27% to $81,023.

Airlines felt the fuel squeeze. American Airlines shares were down about 4% in early trading after the carrier guided to a much larger full-year loss, CNBC said, and the company warned that airfares will not return to pre-Iran war levels, the Financial Times reported.

Washington the Investor: Pentagon and Commerce Equity Stakes

Away from the trading screens, The American Prospect reported that the Pentagon keeps buying stakes in private companies even as Congress questions the practice. Since the Senate Armed Services Committee approved a draft defense bill that would limit those deals, the Defense Department has made four new direct equity investments, worth $775 million in total, all in critical minerals companies, according to the Prospect. The administration has asked for more than $20 billion for the Office of Strategic Capital this year, up from $300 million last year, and $70 billion for two industrial-base programs that received a $2 billion request a year earlier. A Pentagon spokesperson told the Prospect the department “values its longstanding working relationship with Congress.”

The trend is not limited to defense. The Commerce Department will take a $175 million equity stake in a speculative fusion start-up, the Financial Times reported, a company financed by the brother of the president’s son-in-law.

Jobless Claims Stay Low as P&G Beats

The labor market sent a steadier signal. Initial jobless claims fell to a seasonally adjusted 194,000 for the week ended October 17, near the lowest level since the late 1960s, the Labor Department said, CNBC reported. Hiring, though, remains thin: payrolls grew by just 29,000 in September. Federal Reserve officials meet next week, and markets expect the central bank to hold rates in October before raising them a quarter point in December.

On the earnings front, Procter & Gamble topped forecasts, earning an adjusted $2.00 a share on revenue of $23.3 billion, compared with estimates of $1.88 and $22.8 billion, CNBC reported. The maker of Tide and Pampers raised its full-year sales growth outlook to between 2% and 4%, reflecting its purchase of supplement brand Thorne, and its shares rose more than 5% in morning trading. Chief financial officer Andre Schulten described a “bifurcated” consumer, with wealthier shoppers trading up and lower-income households stretching budgets.

Boston Business: Mass General Brigham Layoffs

Closer to home, Mass General Brigham has begun its second round of layoffs in less than two years, The Boston Globe reported. A spokesperson declined to say how many jobs are being cut, but said department heads have been told to reduce their budgets. The health system reported operating income of only $59 million in fiscal 2025, a 0.3% margin, and its leaders have said a healthy margin would be about 1.5%, or $300 million. Mass Eye and Ear will close its general pediatric inpatient unit by January 1. The system eliminated about 1,500 positions in early 2025. The cuts follow recent labor tension at the system, including the postponed Brigham nurses’ strike, and land as Greater Boston’s life sciences sector also sheds jobs, as we reported in our look at Kendall Square biotech layoffs.

What to Watch Next

The next big tests are the Fed’s rate decision next week and the October jobs report on November 6. Until then, oil and AI spending headlines are likely to keep setting the tone. You can catch up on yesterday’s market action in our business report for October 21, 2026.

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Business Report, Oct. 22, 2026: AI Selloff Sinks Nasdaq as Oil Jumps