Dow drops 653 points as Brent settles at $116.72 and oil stocks hit records

The selling that hit technology on Thursday spread to the rest of the market on Friday, and oil gave it a push. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 652.82 points, or 1.23%, to 52,215.16, according to CNBC’s close report. The S&P 500 finished down 0.52% at 7,623.68 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.21% to 25,955.34.

For the week the S&P 500 lost 0.5% and the Nasdaq shed 0.7%, while the Dow gained 0.4%, CNBC reported.

Oil is the driver

CNBC reported that West Texas Intermediate futures rose 3.8% to settle at $103.27 a barrel, and that Brent gained 3.1% to settle at $116.72, the highest settlement since April 29. Brent rose 6.2% on the week, its third straight weekly gain, and WTI added 2%.

The reason, per CNBC’s oil report, is expectation of renewed U.S. action against Iran. CNBC cited U.S. officials telling The New York Times that the U.S. and Israel have plans for fresh strikes after the midterm elections, and noted continued Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. Our Main Street piece works through what a $116 Brent means for fuel bills.

Winners and losers

CNBC reported that Exxon and Chevron touched all-time highs, while uranium, nuclear and clean-energy ETFs fell to 52-week lows. Defensive groups did not offer shelter: consumer staples, utilities and health care all fell, CNBC said, and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR closed down 1.9% by our calculation.

The diesel link to discount retailers

CNBC also reported that Wells Fargo analysts warned rising diesel costs could pressure discount retailers through the second half and into 2027. With third-quarter diesel up about 60% from a year earlier, they estimate the margin hit at about 27 basis points, up from 18 in the second quarter, and name Dollar Tree as the most exposed, with roughly $25 million of third-quarter profit at risk. Both Dollar General and Dollar Tree fell more than 4%.

The same pressure lands on smaller operators. We count 24,679 trucking businesses in the CheckThisBiz directory; most are owner-operators who buy diesel at the pump and cannot hedge it.

Yields turn back up

The Treasury Department’s daily par yield curve shows the 10-year at 5.00%, up from 4.96% on Thursday and 5.13% on Wednesday. The 2-year rose to 4.69% from 4.65%, and the 30-year to 5.33% from 5.29%. Thursday’s dip below 5% lasted one session. Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage average stands at 7.32%, per the economic calendar on our markets page.

Gold, silver and the dollar

Gold futures finished near $4,011 an ounce, down about 1.2%, and silver near $53.97, down about 1.4%, by Yahoo Finance’s closing figures; Kitco said gold was trading near $4,000. Bitcoin was little changed near $81,270. The VIX rose to 19.45 from 19.03.

What to watch

The Federal Reserve meets next Wednesday, October 28, with the economic calendar showing a 3.875% funds-rate forecast. Whether oil keeps rising into that meeting, and whether the 10-year holds 5%, are the questions for Monday’s open.

Sources: CNBC; U.S. Department of the Treasury; Yahoo Finance for stock, ETF, metals and Bitcoin closes; Kitco. Closing levels differ slightly between data vendors, and oil contract months differ between sources. Stock and ETF percentages are our calculations. This is market information, not investment advice.